


Spark of Interest

by Saita_the_Kirin



Category: Static Shock
Genre: Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2020-07-25 11:21:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20024962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saita_the_Kirin/pseuds/Saita_the_Kirin
Summary: Being teenagers Virgil and Richie both work through the confusing road that is a relationship with your best friend.Virgil HawkinsxRichie Foley





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Gasp! I'm alive!
> 
> Haha sorry folks, I know I've been quiet for at least a month but a few things came up from a bunch of July birthdays, to finding a story that I wanted to finish reading through (I have a tendency to hyper focus on certain things and won't stop until I either finish what I'm doing, give up or am forced to stop.) And I've been working on a few costumes.
> 
> I wanted to break out of my comfort zone a little and try my hand at what I feel is a slightly more obscure fandom. I don't see to many stories on this couple so I wanted to throw my hat into the ring so to speak, hopefully you folks like this!
> 
> There will be a note at the bottom of this connected to Mr. Hitman if you're wanting an update to that story.
> 
> As always ~Enjoy!

"Hey Richie, you there?" I jerked to attention when I heard Virgil's voice and felt a hand land on my shoulder gently. I looked up from the circuit board I was just working on for backpack. "Huh? Sorry, did you say something?" He chuckled as he leaned over my shoulder to get a look at what I was working on. Outwardly I was smiling, inwardly... "I'm making an improved scanner for Backpack, he should be able to pick up on a police signal related to metahumans 12% more accurately after this!"

I felt a coil winding in my gut as he leaned just a little closer. Virgil! Dammit don't you know what you're doing to me right now? I turn back to the board knowing that I was blushing, lucky enough for me he decided to go and sit down on the couch to make himself comfortable while he waited for his Static jacket to be done in the wash.

Hot Streak had managed to fire into his disk during a fight and knock him off, and while he's normally quick to recover he didn't have enough time and ended up landing into a puddle of something foul. I didn't even want to take a guess as to what it was but the smell managed to quickly soak into his coat. Even so I know he has spare shirts here at the gas station for situations like this, I couldn't help but grumble that last part in my head but I quickly pushed it aside unless I wanted to risk getting hard with him in the same room.

I think I'd die of embarrassment long before I'd be able to explain my way out of it. Virgil wasn't stupid by any means of the word, he would likely figure me out pretty fast. I had grown quite attracted to him over the years, I had no idea if it was just a stupid infatuation or if I was genuinely falling in love with my best friend. I think we were too young for that to be honest but I can't deny that something is there.

I kept my eyes firmly on the circuit board in front of me, can't let my eyes drift over to my shirtless best friend. Nope, this is the most interesting thing in the world. My best friend, my very _straight _best friend being shirtless and sitting on the couch over there isn't making me painfully hard right now.

A short beeping caught my attention as Backpack scuttled to a stop in front of me. I gave the little robot a fond smile as he continued to beep at me in a string that I was only somewhat fluent in without my helmet on, I could vaguely make out what he was saying but it was still more than enough to get a general idea. I blushed a little before turning away from Virgil entirely and whispered softly "I only understood half of what you just said but if you're implying what I think you are, I can and will skip your weekly buffering mister." He booped lowly in apology and scuttled away "what did he say?" I snorted softly "he's just being cheeky. I never thought his A.I would learn how to do that. He must be hanging around us too much, because I can't imagine him learning that anywhere else." I shot a look in the direction Backpack had went. Virgil snickered behind me as I went back to work. He actually said something more along the lines of 'you like him without shirt, why not look?' I had a robot sassing me for this stupid little crush.

My cheeks started burning again as I finished the board, it was a surprisingly qui- No. Peaceful. It's a surprisingly peaceful night. Never use the Q-word, learned that pretty early into the hero business. With the board finally finished I motioned for Backpack to come back to me so I could install it, the small robot came right over with an audible clicking from his small metal legs, once he was in front of me there was a slight hissing pop as his chassis opened up for me.

I quickly settled into the familiar routine of unscrewing and carefully removing the previous circuit board as to not jarr any delicate machinery inside, I'd really hate to have to fix more than necessary, I know he didn't have any pain sensors but it still hurts my heart to think I could be unintentionally hurting him.

Once I had everything in place and made sure that nothing was damaged I carefully closed everything up and smiled down at him as the little robot beeped happily then turned a little as he seem to look at something over my shoulder, I turned to see Virgil leaning over me not close enough to be uncomfortable but more then close enough for me to still get a good eyeful, and he was still shirtless! I jumped out of my chair to an amused look of concern from my friend. "You ok Rich?" He offered me a hand which I took and helped me to my feet "you're a little jumpy today" yeah no shit. "I'm fine! I- well um" I stumbled over my words with a choked cough before settling on something "I'm ok, I'm just a little tired is all. It's been a good night but I think I'm gonna shut things down and go home for the night."

He stretched out before going and finally grabbing a shirt and slipped over his head "yeah I better be getting home before Pop's comes down here and gets me himself. Make sure to call me when you get home. Good night Richie, I'll see you tomorrow." He took a minute to throw his jacket in the dryer before waved and left the gas station for the night. He'd likely come by early tomorrow to get his jacket before school.

I waited for about 10 minutes to make sure he was really gone before I slumped forward "what am I gonna do Backpack? He's my best friend and my partner in crime fighting, what would he think when he finds out his friend is bi? And has a huge crush on him?" I groaned to myself as the small robot patted my shoulder in a motion to comfort with a small metal leg. The robot beeped and booped in answer to the rhetorical question, I frowned at him a moment before shaking my head "sorry Backpack, I need my mask to see what you're saying. I'm gonna shut you down for tonight." He gave what I thought was a slightly sarcastic boop before settling himself down properly in preparation for his nightly rest cycle. "Good night buddy."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I walked into the house only to be greeted by the smell of something horribly burnt and Sharon who had her arms crossed and scowled at me. "You're late for dinner." She was pretty grouchy tonight "sorry Sharon, I grabbed something with Richie earlier. I'm gonna grab a quick snack then head to bed."

She started to argue but I snatched an orange and headed upstairs. I hadn't eaten earlier and I really needed the calories but this will just have to do for tonight, I could always make a quick midnight snack later. I said good night to dad who was actually looking a little green, you'd think he'd know better then to eat whatever Sharon made but I guessed he was guilted into it. Poor man.

I climbed up the stairs and all but sprinted to the bedroom to get away from the horrible smell and Sharon who shouted after me but I had the door closed and locked before she could do anything further.

I plopped down on the slightly lumpy bed that was a few years past its throw out date but still more than comfortable enough for me. Richie was proving to be a tough nut to crack. Sitting around shirtless hadn't helped much in getting him to crack but it certainly weakened his walls. It was almost cute how shy he was being, he honestly thought I didn't notice.

In truth I caught a few of those sideway glances he had been giving me, he never seem to notice the ones I was giving him in return. I found it both nice and slightly irritating at the same time. While I actively tried to not take advantage of the 'mental loops' as we've come to call them, whenever Richie got stuck in his problem solving or working on something too much to notice anything around him. Outside of physical pain he would become completely oblivious to anything around him, including someone looking him over.

Richie. When did this start? I can't say for sure but I think it started for me at least a year ago, it was just a little crush, easy to ignore really. I didn't want to upset what we already had, Richie was like the brother I never had, he had helped me so much that I almost felt guilty for having a crush on him, so I pushed it all aside and left it alone. It had worked for a while, we were two best friends determined to make it through the hell that was high school. I respected our friendship and wouldn't cross that line… up until the first time I had caught him staring at me with the look that was usually directed at one of the ladies around school.

That one time had gotten my attention, I had started to notice the next couple of times it happened, in class, when we were hanging out and later on patrols together. He had actually smacked into a flagpole one time because he wasn't paying attention to what was in front of him, he was looking at me as I flew a little ways ahead of him and was just a little ways off to the side having seen the same pole earlier and moved to avoid it.

I sighed and started opening my snack and took a bite. What should we do? I'm gonna grow up, get married and have a kid someday, what if we start a relationship and it turns toxic? I do want kids, what about Richie? I mean I know we're too young to be thinking about any of that but when you start a relationship you never want it to end, I guess that's just me being immature. We should be able to enjoy our time together now and figure things out as we go from there.

I discarded the peel in the trash and had set myself on a plan of action for tomorrow if all goes well, that is.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I had just walked in the door to be greeted by my mom who seem to be mad at me for being late to dinner again. "Richie, this is the 4th time you've been late this week." The disappointment in her tone stung a little but I had a bunch of ready made excuses just for this reason. I smiled brightly with a touch of sympathy "sorry mom. I've been studying late at night with Virgil, he's been needing help with certain subjects and I've been grinding to get myself in the advanced courses, you know those look great on a college application."

Her disappointment softened as she smiled, "well if that's the case then I guess I can let it slide this one time. Just make sure to call next time." She gave me a peck on the cheek and told me to go up to my room and she'd bring me a hot plate of food.

I waved as I went to my room, once there I tossed my normal backpack onto my desk much more roughly than my frustration warranted but I was pint up and fighting off a raging hard on. I flopped onto my bed gracelessly and flicked my shoes off with a huff.

Virgil is going to be the death of me.

He was hot and was walking around shirtless and making me painfully horny! I wanted to bend him over that work bench and fuck him raw, have him throw me down on that lumpy old couch we dragged into the gas station and let him fuck my brains out, I didn't care which at this point because I'm about to blow!

I grouced and flopped over so I was looking up at my ceiling, my eyes lazily traced one of the models I had hanging from a fishing wire. That was unfair, I didn't feel this way just because I thought he was hot, I really did respect him, I wanted to be able to just sit and relax with him as a couple, not just as best friends.

My mind and body were practically at war with each other over what I should do. My mind told me that I should talk with him about this, my body was demanding that I seduced him and take him for a ride. After a minute logic seem to win over hormones enough to help me wrestle them back into check. I inwardly grimaced at the thought that it took me so long to do so, a little ashamed.

'What a fine mess you've gotten yourself into Richie. You know you're better than this, I don't know why this is such a problem lately.' I breathed out slowly, maybe a meal and a shower will help me clear my head? I'll sleep on it for now but I'm definitely going to have to talk to Virgil about this tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my dear duckies, the newest chapter is up but I'm afraid if turned a little angsty this time. Feel free to let me know as I love reading and replying to comments recived!
> 
> Anyways as always ~enjoy!

"Richie" his voice was smooth, his eyes smoldered as he cupped my cheek in his hand. A pleasant warmth radiated through me as he kissed me again, my mind was swimming as I felt his hand travel down my bare chest to my lower waist, tantalizingly close. "Please" I breathed out almost desperate at this point, it felt like a coil was slowly tightening as I watched as his hand drifted down 'Just a little further…' 

I gasped as he gripped me firmly and started to stroke it painfully slow, I gritted my teeth as he whispered in my ear "I've been wanting to do this for a while Rich. I've been waiting for you to tell me yourself. He nipped the shell of my ear with a chuckle as he picked up the pace but only a little.

I bit back a moan "Virgil, stop teasing! Please it hurts." I was achingly hard but he didn't seem to be done teasing me yet "You want me to hurry up?" He kissed along my neck, even that was done at an agonizingly slow pace. "Yes! Please don't keep me waiting" his grip tightened a little as he finally started pumping me faster, good, I was more than ready to beg for it at this point.

I felt the coil tightening even more as I felt that delightful warmth grip that was driving me closer to release "I love you, I love you Virgil!" I saw his mouth moving but the blood was pounding in my ears, I was so close "Oh fuck!"

I sat straight up in bed gasping and wheezing, covered in sweat and confused. I sat there for a minute before realisation started to slowly work its way through my foggy mind, I blinked and lifted the blanket a little before dropping it with a groan of mortification and a hot blush to my cheeks. I looked to the clock on my bedside table and groaned again.

5:00am

I considered ignoring the itchy, sticky mess in my pants and rolling back over to go to sleep. I had an hour before I had to get up for school but the smell was really getting to me. I tossed the sheets off and quietly made my way to the bathroom, Dad shouldn't be back from work for another 3 hours and Mom wouldn't get up until at least 7:30 unless she absolutely had to.

I turned on the shower and waited for it to warm up, I focused on the water as it sprayed rather than the itching that was growing worse by the second. After about 10 seconds I couldn't take it anymore and stepped into the lukewarm water that was sluggish in warming up this morning. I started cleaning my self, pointedly ignoring the renewed life my touch brought and thought back to the wet mess I had just left in my room.

I couldn't even have waited to talk to him before my mind came up with that. I doubt I'd be able to look him in the eye for a while, I just… couldn't help myself. I really do want more than just sex, I just can't seem to help myself right now. I could blame it on hormones, it would be a cheap explanation but I'd take just about anything I could get to lessen this guilt right about now. Speaking of any excuse, I might as well find a little relief, it might make it easier on me later… I looked down and bit my lip.

'Sorry Virgil'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I awoke to the shrill beeping of my alarm clock, I hit the button quickly (having learned that if I zapped it too often that it would eventually fry the inner workings of my clock) and groggily sat up trying to rub the sleep from my eyes.

I stood up from the bed and nearly stumbled as my legs nearly gave out from under me "Forgot to eat last night." I mumbled to myself as I tried to wake up "I really gotta start snacking on something before I come home." I said with a shuttering yawn.

I eventually made my way down to the dining room where I saw pops drinking from a mug of coffee looking decidedly better then he had last night. "Hello son, your sister left early. Said you needed to make your own breakfast today." He gave me a knowing smile as relief bloomed on my face.

I grabbed an apple from the kitchen knowing it would hold me over until I could grab something much larger and greasier on the way to school. I also need to make a pit stop on the way to grab my Static suit from the gas station. I always had a backup incase one was damaged or like in the case of last night, needed a good wash, but I like to keep my updated look going as much as possible.

"Later dad" "goodbye Virgil, try not to be too late coming home tonight." "I'll try" I said with a wave over my shoulder before leaving.

I had plenty of time to map out some of the more deserted routes and times to prime locations such as the gas station, school and Richie's house in the time I had became Static. Richie, now that I was thinking about it, I hadn't thought of anything to say to him. I had kind of passed out a short while after I laid down last night, I guess when your body is running on fumes you'll fall asleep much easier than you'd think you would. I also imagine that while sleeping my charge your batteries some, it doesn't help when you need to figure out how you're going to explain your crush on your best friend. Especially when that best friend of yours is a guy.

I smacked the side of my head lightly trying to knock the cobwebs out but it was no use. I might be able to come up with something after I ate, that apple had certainly helped but there wasn't much more it could do then provide me with a much needed sugar boost.

I took the route that I knew to be the safest, meaning most deserted this time of the morning, to the gas station, as soon as I had my uniform I could much more safely fly to some fast food place to get something more substantial. I idly mused on when I should say to Richie, I know what I wanted to talk about but actually getting to that point could be… complicated.

Richie was always a thinker, even before he became a bang baby I could always think up a time when he would be over thinking something. I remember in this murder mystery game you played a time traveler who would have to find ways to dodge the person trying to kill him, it was a fun if fairly tame game by today's standards but were it took me about a week to get to one of the multiple endings, Richie was, I would find out later, stuck on the second chapter for a month because he was trying to find every possible thing to do in the chapter.

"I can only wonder what's going through that head of his right now. I hope he hasn't completely psyched himself out." I don't know how long it would take to calm him down if he scared himself out of it… what if that wasn't the case through?

I came to a rather abrupt stop at the doorway of the gas station as the thought hit me. What if he wasn't trying to figure out if I'm interested or not and he's trying to think of a way to let me down gently? I ran a hand through my dreadlocks as I stepped into the familiar, if dark, dusty old room that served as our private HQ. A smile tugged at my lips as my eyes unconsciously drifted to the desk Richie would often be sitting at. I stepped over to it and ran a hand over the desk as I let my mind go quiet.

"BEEP!" I yelped and jumped back quickly tripping over an abandoned mop that must have tipped over at some point in the night. "Backpack? Dude! Don't do that to me!" The small robot that was often at rest on my partner's back stood up on the desk and extended his camera to look at me.

He beeped quickly and pointed a small accusatory leg at me "what? I scared you?!" He booped and stomped his little leg a few times before he turned away from me as if he was giving me the cold shoulder. As soon as it felt like my heart wasn't going to burst from my chest, I got up and stalked over to the dryer to retrieve what I came here for in the first place. I had plenty of time before the first bell so I carefully folded up my jacket and the rest of the uniform and placed it into my backpack.

"Why can't I just tell him?" I stared down at the thunderbolt on my shirt, I was always much more confident when I was in a fight, I faced fire, poison, mutated fists that hit like sledgehammers but my best friend? I felt like turning tail and running.

"Beep-beep." I looked at backpack who turned back around to look at me with a few beeps sprinkled in. I listened to the robot's rapid chattering for a minute before sighing "I can't understand you." Backpack paused his beeps, I imagine he was figuring out a way to try and communicate with me in a way I could understand. Finally after a long moment he walked forwards and butted his head into mine with an annoyed sounding boop, it wasn't hard at all before he backed himself up and around to face the computer on the desk. He pawed at something by the screen until a small paper slipped free from whatever had been keeping it there.

I picked it up without resistance from Backpack who beeped happily. It's a picture of me and Richie as Static and Gear grinning like idiots after one of our biggest crime busts. I smiled fondly at the picture as I remember the biggest pain that day was Puff and Onix. Before I could get too deep into my musings Backpack poked at my arm to get my attention, I looked at him as he booped lowly while dipping the front half of his body.

"Are you trying to say something to me?" He let out a chortaling beep and poked at me again. Richie's comment last night came to mind 'he's just being cheeky.' I immediately blushed as I connected the dots "What? Backpack!" I sputtered as Backpack beeps sounded suspiciously like he was laughing at me.

I huffed and turned away from him and checked my watch with a gasp. "You're lucky I have school in 25 minutes." Backpack beeped and went back to his recharging station.

I quickly retreated from the gas station as the implications made by Backpack started to sink in, I didn't need to understand what he actually said but I had a pretty good idea. I needed to talk to Richie now, there was no chickening out now.

I got to school with enough time to be able to race to my first class and sit down before the final bell rang out. I settled in with a few gasps as the teacher made her way to the front of the room, I paid just enough attention to not get called on while talking a chance to take a peek at Richie who was firmly staring out the window, he was working on a half hearted sketch of something I couldn't even begin to understand the complex mess that was his handwriting, as well as his lack of attention for what would have normally been a neat and clear depiction of what he envisioned in his head, was now a mess of doodles as he drew over previous parts of his plans unintentionally.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I stared out the window as schematics for a high grade power turbine scrolled through my mind. I would normally push this to the back of my mind and let it play out there but this time it was a welcome distraction as I let my inner thoughts play in the background.

'Jacking off to the image of your best friend, how shameful.' 'He's your closest friend.' 'You couldn't have waited until you properly talked this out with him?' All of that and more bounced around, seeming to be just a little bit louder than all the thoughts and ideas that endlessly ran in my mind in a never ending loop.

I rubbed at my head trying to ward off the migraine that was just in the beginning stages. Eventually the windowsill grew boring so I looked down to see the hot mess that was my schematics, this would have given an engineer a heart attack if the world depended on this machine. I flipped the paper over and started over again, 'honestly I'm better than this.' I began restarting the sketch but this seem to get Virgil's attention as he spoke softly, as to not make a disruption in class "hey Rich, you ok bro?"

My head jerked up and down, I didn't trust my voice not to betray my nerves but my body didn't seem to get the memo as it involuntarily shuddered with a nervous energy. 'Gee, thanks! You're really doing me a solid here body!' "Are you really ok? You look like you're gonna throw up or something." 'Throw up, pass out, run like hell and not stop until my legs gave out… all viable options to me right now!' "I'm ok."

I quickly raised my hand to be excused to the restroom so I could get away from this, I just needed a little break, yeah that's it. Just a little break to calm my nerves. I was quickly excused and all but sprinted out of the room, once I was in the hallway I felt that I could catch my breath again. I just need to splash my face with some water is all, that's what I need to do.

I made my way to the boy's room which was thankfully empty for this time in the morning. The smokers usually skipped first period and hung out in this particular restroom but the school was starting to crack down on things like smoking and kids skipping so I imagine that they must be rotating to different ones to avoid getting caught. My mind leaped upon this new question and started working out the most likely schedule for raids, how long it's been since the smokers were last here? Judging by the smell of stale cigarette smoke that clung to the walls in an unhealthy looking yellow stain it had been a few days at least.

I let my mind run with that as I took the opportunity to look at myself in the mirror. I looked terrible. My bodies early morning wake up call has certainly not done me any favors and to top it all off I was too embarrassed to even speak to my best friend much less look him in the eye.

Where did my confidence go? I'm a man not some wilting flower! I can go and sit down next to my best friend, whom I have a massive crush on and not completely shut down… well, so much for that little pep talk. I splashed my face with some cold water from the tap and almost immediately regretted it as the smell from the room seem to seep into the water itself, it was almost like splashing your face with a cold wave of cigarette smoke.

I gagged and scrubbed at my face with the back of my sleeve. That was disgusting. Well it can't get any worse then that I suppose. I frowned at the taste that seem to linger in the back of my mouth before leaving the restroom. Next time I'm going to the other one, this was so gross.

I walked back into the classroom with my nerves considerably more calm than before. I sat down next to Virgil who shot me a concerned look, I managed to give him a shaky smile in return before settling back in for the rest of the day. The rest of the school day was rather uneventful, we managed a short if pleasant conversation at lunch but otherwise we were fairly quiet.

There was an almost nervous tension as we left school today, I had decided that I needed to lay everything out on the table and see what happened from there. 'Tell him I love him, get rejected, go home and lick my wounds and move on.' That was my plan for now.

"Hey Rich, let's head to the gas station. We need to talk." I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end "yeah, sure." It took all my willpower to keep my voice from cracking, his smile… Virgil you're killing me!

15 minutes, 15 agonizing minutes of painful silence as we made our way to the gas station for some much needed privacy. Once we finally got there I walked in first and grabbed a drink from the fridge and downed it in one gulp, I turned to see Virgil resting against the wall with a slight air of nervousness about him.

We stood there for a long minute before he broke the silence "so I've noticed you've been sort of distracted lately…" He shook his head before continuing "no that's not what I meant, I mean I've seen that you've been staring at me-" my eyes widened with mortification "I'm so sorry!" He noticed I knew it! He's mad or uncomfortable or-

"Richie!" I felt him gently grab my shoulder and turn me around to face him, I kept my eyes firmly on the floor, there was no way I would ever live this down. "Rich, it's ok. I've been looking at you to." His voice was soft as he lifted my chin so that I was looking him in the face.

I kissed him.

It was the most awkward, sloppy, desperate mess of a kiss but I couldn't stop myself. After a second I was ready to apologize, run away and hide in my room for a week or two. I didn't even get the chance to pull away before I felt him wrap his arms around my waist as he took control of the kiss. My knees went weak as I relaxed against him, I pulled away after a minute as he smiled at me.

"I um, uh" I couldn't string together a coherent thought much less a sentence, Virgil on the other hand seem to not bother with such things. I saw a strange mix of emotions on his face, excitement, hope, and even a touch of relief. "You didn't think I'd let you go after that move you just made on me did you?" I couldn't think of anything except for what has to be one of the dumbest things to come out of my mouth to date "so; you're not mad?"

He laughed gently with a shake of his head "no I'm not, I would like to do that again." I smiled and leaned in again to kiss him properly this time. 'This is even better than I could have imagined' he rested a hand on my hip and the other around my back 'so nice.'

We both jumped when we heard something being knocked over only to see Backpack had accidently knocked over a piece of scrap metal while he had his camera extended at us. "Backpack!" He booped a few times before turning around again, I cleared my throat as I saw the camera turn to continue looking at us despite his turning around to give us some privacy.

"Little pervert." I gave Backpack a half hearted scowl but I couldn't help the small laugh that came out. "You mind if we sit down and continue this?" He smiled but hesitated for a second. "While I'd love to do that, I think we should talk about this first." He walked over and sat down on the lumpy old couch and patted the spot next to him with a smile, I joined him not knowing what to expect.

After a minute of awkward silence he spoke up first "I don't even know where to start so I'm gonna try and lay this all out for you and try not to make too much a fool of myself here. I really like you, like really really like you. You're my best friend and I really want to see where this goes." He paused as if thinking over how he wanted to bring something up. "And I do want to do this, like really want to, but I don't know how long this will last."

I mulled over what he just told me, if that was a deal breaker or not I didn't really care. I know I'm happy with what we have now and I'm ready to do what it takes to make him happy… even if that means letting go of this. "Virgil, it's alright. If you want to do this, I'm happy with that but if you're not comfortable then I'm ok with leaving it as it is."

He frowned as he thought on this, I waited quietly for his decision, I wasn't going to rush him but waiting was going to drive me up a wall. Finally he looked at me with a smile, "I want to see where this will go." I released a breath I didn't know I was holding as I pulled him into a quick kiss, this turned into him wrapping his arms around me pulling us closer together.

We ignored the whooping boops coming from Backpack, I made a mental note to skip his outer shell buffering this week but I was far more interested in the handsome guy in front of me.

I was pretty absorbed in our make out session when a different sort of beeping caught my attention, we broke apart immediately as Backpack sounded out the alert for a bang baby attack "Oh for all the-" was all Virgil grunted as we both sprang into action "If it's Hot Streak on another rampage again, I swear the next thing I'm going to work on is a more potent fire extinguisher to use against him." We ran out the door fully prepared to deal with whatever the threat this day might be.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks, heres a little in between chatper to help move things along. I'm starting to get a good foot hold here now but feel free to let me know what you think?
> 
> Enjoy~

"I should have made those extinguishers!" Gear shouted as he dived into the small water fountain outside of the shopping center, I took a brief moment to check that he was actually alright only to be sent flying by an intense ball of searing heat. I grabbed my jacket and started pulling at it uselessly trying to get it off of me as quickly as possible.

"I really should have gotten a fire retardant coat!" I unceremoniously flung my coat into the water as I ducked low to avoid another stray fireball. "You ok?" Gear shifted himself into a ready crouch "Yeah. He's really mad today."

When we got here several trees and plants were either badly burnt or were actively on fire, several venders's booths were smouldering which created a thick acrid smoke that was making my eyes water and burn even when they were several yards away. I don't know if it had been the poor food court worker getting his order wrong, or if he was just in an exceptionally pissy mood today, or just a combination of the two that had him this furious and honestly, I didn't really care.

We currently have a very dangerous bang baby on our hands throwing what I could only describe properly as a nuclear meltdown level temper tantrum. He was in such a blind rage that he was kicking several things aside with a surprising amount of strength, benches that were bolted down, heavy metal ashtrays and vending machines were all victims of his wrath, all while he screamed and swore at the top of his lungs.

"I'm pretty sure he's making up new words to scream. I've never seen him this bad before." I could only nod in agreement, he seem too far gone at this point to even notice us as we regrouped, I had no doubt that would change very fast if one of us flew in close enough to get caught in his rage induced narrowed line of sight. "What should we do? If he keeps this up he'll set off the sprinkler system, I know he doesn't do well when wet but I think he's actually burning hot enough to keep the water from actually reaching him."

Even now we could both see the clearly visible waves of heat rolling off of him, we'd probably get a nasty burn by getting within 10 feet of him so close quarters combat was clearly out, I'd have suggested we just wait him out but we were in a contained area and the property damage was already reaching critical levels, that would force the mall to shut down for an indefinite amount of time, leaving hundreds of people jobless in the meantime and I couldn't keep his attention long enough to lead him away.

So we were effectively screwed.

"I'll get his attention and keep it on me, do you think you can come up with something to take him down?" He narrowed his eyes in thought as he mulled over a mental list of what he would need for this task in his head. "Maybe? I mean I'd need a bunch of fire extinguishers to start but I- WOAH!"

We both dove in opposite directions as a bright white ball of twisted metal flew in our general area, the standing fountain shattered spraying stone shrapnel as it crashed through, thankfully most of it followed the twisted metal ball but I was hit by a few hot specs of stone on the exposed skin on my arms. I swatted them off with a hiss of pain, Hot Streak had started working his way in our direction when we were talking and had finally noticed us there, needless to say he wasn't happy to see us.

"STATIC! I'LL TEAR YOU APART WITH MY BARE HANDS!" He didn't seem to notice Gear as he honed in on me, I yelped and jumped over the fountain as a stream of fire was aimed in my direction, I needed to lead him away so Gear could make something to bring down this raging demon. I had the presence of mind to pull my goggles down into place before looking the raging bang baby in the eye, "Come on Hothead, over here! Bet you can't catch me!" His pupils constricted more if possible as he charged at me with a roar of fury. I hopped onto my shock disk and soared up into the air trying to duck and weave as he gave chase.

With him being this furious I couldn't get him to leave by chasing me, if I left his narrow view he'd lose me and find another target which meant that he could end up stumbling across Gear as he did his thing, and keeping him close enough to me would probably end with either my charbroiled body being hauled out in a body bag or land me a permanent spot in the burn ward. Dammit I just started a relationship, I can't just go out and get myself killed before we've even had our first date!

I threw the occasional bolt as I ducked behind any cover I could find that would provide me with any form of protection I could get. Nothing lasted more than about 10 seconds, the small wooden food stand I had dived behind exploded into a shower of fiery splinters, I flinched as a big piece of wood flew right by my face, Hot Streak took that moment to pounce. Like a lion leaping on an animal that had the poor misfortune of tripping over a small rock, Hot Streak landed on top of me with terrible force.

I think he was actually planning on killing me with his bare hands as he smiled down at me gleefully, the smile of someone who just got the reward he desired most. My reflexes were slowed by the intense, choking heat that burned my lungs with each breath, robbing me of the oxygen I desperately needed in that moment. My skin was already starting to raise and burn in the close presence of the walking volcano, I weakly threw up my arm, not to attack but in an instinctive need to protect my face. I expected an explosion of pain, horrible, burning pain but that's not what happened.

I heard an explosion but instead of a whoosh of heat that I expecting I felt the most wonderful chill wash over me, like a cooling wave of bliss. "Static?!" Gear called out to me, his voice terrified and desperate. I coughed from the fumes as I tried to call out to him as I attempted to stand up and to get myself away from the fumes, but ended up stumbling backwards to land against something firm and unmoving.

I opened my eyes only to see a world of white. I actually believed I had been blinded for a moment before remembering I had my goggles on, I pulled them off carefully to see that everything was white but instead of being a solid wall I could make out several shapes, including that of Hot Streak who was laying on the floor gagging and struggling weakly against something keeping him bound tight.

I blinked as a blur of colors suddenly entered my field of vision, "Static! Are you ok?!" I shook my head and stumbled to my feet, grabbing his shoulder to support myself until my head stopped spinning. "I'm ok, just a little dizzy. What happened?" He walked me over to a chair that was clear from the field of white foam and sat me down before he went and quickly grab Hot Streak to drag him out of the harsh smelling chemicals with a grunt, I looked at myself to see that I was also covered in the foam as well.

I started scraping off as much of it as I could while Gear dropped Hot Streak off on a clean patch of floor. He flashed me a sheepish smile "Sorry about that, I wanted to make sure I was able to take him down in one shot, I think I used a few too many fire extinguishers. Backpack helped me by collecting extinguishers as I grabbed the fire hose, I saw you go down so I just aimed and sprayed everything down."

He frowned down at Hot Streak who seem to finally have flamed out, he laid next to us with a groan and the occasional cough. "I need to get this stuff off of me, let's give hot head here to the cops and go." He sighed in relief and nodded.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After we fished out Static's jacket from the fountain we dropped Hot Streak off to some very relieved looking police officers. We both took to the air to the gas station, I made sure to keep a close eye on Static as we flew together, he had managed to knock off most of the foam and the relatively clean air had helped, it clear to anyone that he was undoubtedly not feeling well despite his protests.

We had sort of come to the same unspoken agreement that while on missions we were partners first, lovers (for lack of a better term) second. But now that we were out of danger and well above the public's view he finally let some of the sickness show through and I let a little more concern that was 'strictly business' slip onto my face.

"Man those fire extinguishers are no joke." He was starting to look a little shaky as the gas station came into view. "It's ok, we're almost back and you can take a quick shower at the station. We'll need to stop by the ER on the way home." That was not up for debate and he could tell, his lack of protest being a clear sign of understanding or him just being too sick at the moment.

Virgil all but dropped from exhaustion when we touched down in the parking lot, I grabbed his arm and steadied him against me as we walked in. He had more than enough strength to do this himself but from the slight wobble in his step I didn't want to risk him tripping and landing flat on his face. We quickly walked to the office which had been converted into our muck room of sorts. It had a small standing shower and a few locked cabinets that we kept spare pairs of clothing in and a washer and dryer. Virgil separated himself from me and turned on the shower, not even waiting for it to warm up before stepping into the spray, he jerked back a little with a hiss of it being cold but didn't step away from the water completely.

Even with him being fully dressed I turned away to give him a little privacy, I walked over to one of the locked cabinets and grabbed a dry change of clothing for him to change into. I stared at them for a moment as what I could imagine to be a guilty look crossed my face, 'what the hell was I thinking?' I didn't get to dwell on that thought too long as I heard the shower being turned off, Virgil stepped out and grabbed the rough old towel that we left hanging next to the shower to dry himself off.

I tossed him the towel and set down the clothing on a nearby table and stepped out of the room to let him change. I walked over to the couch and plopped down despite the annoyed beep from Backpack who had been pushed into the back of the couch. "Sorry Backpack." He crawled off my back and settled down on the couch next to me. What was I thinking? I saw him go down and Hot Streak ready for an attack, I panicked, I didn't even think of how potent the fumes would have been, how sick he could have become. I also had the idol concern in the back of my mind that Hot Streak could have been made sick as well but he was transported straight to the hospital opposed to Virgil who had to wait to be seen.

Before I could get any further into that line of thought, the sound of a door opening caught my attention. Virgil looked at lot better than he had before with only the occasional cough, he pointed to the office behind him. "Your turn." I was still in costume and had to change before we headed out to the ER, I nodded and stood up to head back to the office for my turn to change. Just as I got to the door his arm shot out stopping me from continuing. Just as I turn to face him to ask what he was doing I felt the face shield of my helmet being pulled up, my vision blurred as the part of the screen that served to replace my glasses was pulled up leaving me almost legally blind. I blinked not even knowing what was going on as he kissed me.

"Hmm Virgil I-" he cut me off with another kiss, I pushed against him for only a moment before I relaxed and returned the kiss. He pulled away and went to sit on the couch to wait for me along with Backpack. I closed the door behind me before my weakened knees forced me to rest against the wall to keep from collapsing completely. My head was as blurry as my eyesight but the message was pretty clear. He completely forgave me for what happened and probably wasn't going to be too cool with me beating myself up over a small accident.

I had to take a minute to compose myself before I had enough presence of mind to get changed, didn't want to have to keep him waiting too long. Even now I could hear his soft rasping cough through the door that twisted the knife of my guilt but he had made himself clear earlier. Maybe I could make this up to him somehow?

I quickly changed into my casual wear, grabbed my glasses (I liked to keep a pair with me and a back-up pair at our HQ just in case) and walked out to see him having a poking war with Backpack. I stared a moment as they poked at eachother before finally deciding to say something. "Ok what are you two doing?" They both looked at me, Backpack started booping as they pointed at each other, Virgil said loudly with a rasping cough of "he started it."

I pinched the bridge of my nose with a groan. The man I fell in love with, and the robot I made were having a childish poking war, all while said man was sick. Well, this wasn't how I expected this day to go. "Come on ya' dope, let's get you to the hospital before you cough up a lung or something." "I don't really need to go to the hospital but ok then." He smiled and chuckled, started coughing and wretched up something an interesting color then paused after he caught his breath, "ok, now I'm thinking that I should, in fact, go to the hospital." I smiled and waved goodbye to Backpack saying that I'd be back to put him into a proper rest cycle after we got Virgil proper care.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When I got home Pops nearly flipped his lid when I told him what happened. I had managed to talk Richie into letting me go home on my own after the ER visit. Honestly I wasn't feeling too good, I was having a hard time catching my breath after walking at half my normal pace for 10 minutes and I'm pretty sure I've coughed up half the colors of the rainbow by now.

When we got to the ER we explained that we had found an old fire extinguisher and being teenagers decided to play with it, unfortunately we dropped it which ended up with me getting a good blast of foam to the face. That was the story we came up with on the way to the ER, and being two teenage boys on a 'boring day' explained why we did what we had, and that we were on the opposite side of town when the whole Hot Streak attack went down. The front desk lady rolled her eyes at us, likely thinking of us as a couple of stupid kids doing stupid things. I could tell she was stressed by the influx of patients caused by Hot Streak's earlier rampage, two kids being stupid on such a bad day was probably wearing down on her already fraying nerves.

Despite my protests, Richie covered the bill saying something like, "nah man, this one is on me." Just like before when he was insisting that I go to the hospital and wasn't going to take no for an answer, there was no point in fighting him on it so I let him.

Lucky for him the bill was relatively inexpensive for such a minor problem (just a mild respiratory infection that would clear up with some medicine and bed rest) but our luck ran out when the ER nurse had to call home because I was still a minor, she had to call dad who was understandably upset that he was getting calls from the ER for his son, especially when the reason given was so stupid. This lead to my current chewing out and likely grounding.

"I'd think you would have a little more since then to play with a fire extinguisher Virgil. You're lucky you had the since to cover your eyes son, you realize you could have been blinded by that right? You're lucky that it was an abandoned fire extinguisher that wasn't being used anymore, just earlier today those two young heroes had to use a bunch of them to take out that kid that likes to burn things when he gets mad.

That extinguisher could have been put to better use today but no, you and Richie decided it would be more fun to just play with it! You're grounded for two days, now go up to your room and try and sleep some of this off, I hope you've learned your lesson."

He pointed towards the stairs with the order, I was just happy that he was done so I could finally go lay down now, not gonna lie, I'm pretty worn out. It was still relatively early to go to bed so I think I'll go lay down and maybe talk to Richie before dinner was ready.

Once I got into my room I flopped onto my bed with a relieved groan, that turned into a small cough that I tried to hold back, which had ended up made it about ten times worse. Once I was done retching up a lung and spat out something an interesting color, I rested back onto the bed. Well this was the best, and crappiest day I've ever had. On one hand, I had a boyfriend but on the other hand, I have a terrible cough and said boyfriend is massively guilty about the whole thing even though it was just an accident.

"What should I do?" I didn't want Richie to spook and run this soon, if he wanted to break it off then I wouldn't stop him but I didn't want us to lose this because he saved me from being torched alive and had inadvertently gotten me a little sick in the process.

I grabbed my shockbox that I kept at home and flipped it on "Hey Richie, you home yet?" I was met with silence on the other end, no problem, he might be busy. I set it aside and looked up at the ceiling as if it had the answers I wanted. I heard the door open and looked to see Sharon standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. "Hey Virgil I heard what happ-" whoop.

I about jumped off the bed and recovered long enough to think of grabbing my pillow and flung it at her, hitting her right in the face. "Sharon! Don't just walk into my room! Get out!" I readied another pillow which forced her into a retreat with a shout of annoyance. "So freaking rude!" I huffed and shut the door "I really gotta start locking that thing." "V? Did you call me?" I perked up at the sound of a soft, if slightly tinny, voice in my room. I grabbed my shock box "Hey Rich I'm here." "So your dad didn't kill you?" His tone was light and joking but I caught the hint of relief in his voice. "Yeah, I just managed to get away. I'm grounded for two days though" ''Sorry about that."

He wasn't going to let this go easily this time. It was always a risk that Richie could get hung up on something, with his mind running a mile a minute, I can imagine that it was coming up with all sorts of scenarios unbidden to drive poor Richie up a wall. I wanted to find a way to help him, give him something else to think about.

An idea suddenly hit me "How about when the weekend rolls around we go out on a date?" I could practically hear him pause and blink before he responded with "a date?" Could this man not be cute? "Yes a date." I could imagine him biting his lip like he did when he was unsure about something "Ok, let's go on a date." "How does Saturday sound?" "Alright, that sounds good to me. Get well soon Virgil." His voice softened at that last part. "I will, good night Richie." "Night Virgil." I set the shockbox aside with a smile.

"I can't wait."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks, this is a long one. Hope you enjoy, feel free to let me know what you think!
> 
> ~Enjoy

It had taken a few days for Virgil's cough to go away and in that time word had gotten around the school about what happened, needless to say, there was a lot of teasing. "Hey Virgil, where's the fire extinguisher?" Was a popular one, after some time I started to relax and even crack a nervous joke or two.

In the brief time between classes we would find a little hidden nook to spend a brief moment alone for a quick kiss or just to spend a few seconds together and enjoy each other's company. It was a little weird at first, my head was telling me that this was my best friend, my best male friend, and how it was all a little strange but my heart and body just told me this was right. I was even a little mad at myself for waiting this long to take the next step but we were together now so I guess it was ok.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow." I said in between a few kisses. It was the last class of the day which was a study hall so we decided to just blow it off for the day. "I was thinking we could go out to a movie then get dinner together." He worried that it was a little standard as far as dating was concerned but with how chaotic our lives had become, being bang babies and all and choosing to fight crime rather then add to it, that a little normality would do us both some good. "Sounds great to me."

I loved these little moments together, we could just relax and enjoy each other's company. We didn't even need to say anything, he just understood. It's like we skipped a year ahead into the relationship and just knew what the other liked and didn't. I pulled away from him for a moment to scan the hallway again, I wasn't completely certain why doing this in a public area was making me nervous about this but it was. It was like a small voice in the back of my head that was familiar yet very muffled, it whispered that this was bad. If this was bad then why does it feel so good, so natural, so right?

A quick glance at the clock told me that we should be heading out soon so we could get a head start on the weekend. Hotstreak's explosive melt down had gotten the other bang babies to keep their heads down, whether it was because the police were on heightened alert or because the mall (with a majority of all the good money and loot) was currently down for repairs. We still had to go on patrols to keep up appearances and a presence in the city but it was much more lax and easier than it had been before the incident at the mall.

Adam had agreed to take over the patrols for Saturday and only call us if it was an emergency, Virgil hadn't told him why we wanted it off, upon my request, and luckily Adam didn't seem to mind as Sharon was going to be locking herself in her room for the weekend studying, so he didn't seem to have anything else to do.

We had just stepped into the gas station when I felt him turn me around and pin me against the wall and kissed me. "Virgil! How forceful!" He paused for a moment and asked me with a genuine sincerity "is that a problem?" I grabbed a handful of his dreads and pulled him into a kiss as my hands started to roam. His strong arms kept me against him securely and I was loving it.

I let my hands roam a little without going too far, I wanted to rest them a lot lower but I wanted to respect the unspoken boundaries that I knew were there. I decided to rest them on his hips and enjoy this, dammit V you have no idea what you're doing to me right now. I reluctantly pulled away from him saying something about how we should be getting changed to go out on patrol. The real reason was because I wasn't going to be able to keep my body from reacting and betraying me.

He didn't seem too keen on the thought of stopping but he did pull away, I had to hold back the soft sigh of relief that wanted to come up. I needed to keep a tighter rein over my body, normally I didn't even have to think about it, my mind would run on and on making it difficult to focus on what was happening around me. I would often forget to take care of myself, that included eating or showering. I was lucky that I lived at home which would often lead to mom coming and getting me for dinner or her straight up demanding that I took a shower before she made me do it herself.

But now? Nope. I didn't pay any mind to the never ending stream of theories, mental blueprints for a self sustaining power generator, countless ideas that never stopped seem to quiet down to a dull murmuring in the back of my mind. It was the closest thing I've had to peace in my head in what felt like months.

Virgil left to get changed in the office while I went to both boot up Backpack and check the daily police reports. The computer booted up as quickly as it could, poor thing needed a better motherboard but I didn't have time to make a new one yet so I was left to wait for it. Backpack walked up to me and greeted me with a beep "Hey buddy, everything running alright?" He gave a happy beep. I began skimming over the reports that had come in overnight.

Talon had been spotted last night but she had just been taking a night time flight, nothing illegal about that. Other then a few stolen purses nothing had really happened- "Oh" Virgil had snuck up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled my head up enough to give me a gentle kiss. "That's unfair" I reached up and wrapped an arm around his neck making sure not to tilt too far back or hold onto him in a way that would make him uncomfortable, I pulled him back down into another kiss.

Finally I pulled away to give him last night's report, he listened in intently as he switched from boyfriend mode into Static mode. I pointed out a few hotspots we may want to make a few detours from our usual Friday patrols, he nodded along intently as he took all of this new information in. "Alright let's split up and each take a side of the city." I nodded and went to get changed myself for the day's patrol.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The patrol went pretty well today, I caught sight of Talon again today but she was just standing beside a rundown old building eating an apple, she caught sight of me and nearly choked as she scrambled to get out of sight. I don't think she knew that I had spotted her and was trying to avoid a one on one fight. I took it as a sign that she wasn't up to anything and was likely just having a lunch break or something.

Not wanting to provoke a fight I made a mental note of the street and district I spotted her on and moved on. I called it into Gear who gave a short confirmation and reported the all clear on his end. I couldn't wait for our date tomorrow, I honestly never expected that we would actually go out on a date. I was surprised when I first started noticing that he was looking at me like I used to stare at Frieda or Daisy. Now that I really think about it, I don't think I've ever seen him looking at any of the girls like I would. He just didn't seem all that interested or even enthusiastic about it, if you asked him he'd just play it off until the subject was changed.

I shrugged it off, it was his business and I could respect that. My eyes lazily scanned the city below me, even with my lax attention my eyes were trained to pinpoint certain dangers like bang babies, illegal activities; the fact that I was about to hit a sign! I jerked to full attention and slowed down and tried to pull up, I mostly succeeded as I only clipped the top of it. "You wanna watch where you're going?" An exasperated voice called out.

I looked down to see Rubberband Man staring up at me, annoyance clear on his face as he crossed his arms as he gave me a half hearted scowl. One I regained complete control of my flight disk and righted myself in the air, I turned around to face him with a sheepish smile. Of course someone saw that. "Hey bro, good to see you again." I drifted down into a gentle, graceful landing next to him, maybe that will help my ego recover a little.

“Any activity?” Straight to business, that’s Rubberband Man alright. “Spotted Talon earlier. She wasn’t doing anything suspicious and she was recently released so I gave her a pass.” He nodded along as I spoke, he seemed to be slightly irritated about me passing her over so casually but I think he understood the reason why. “Anything else?” I shook my head and leaned back against the sign I had nearly hit earlier. He turned looking like he was about to leave before he paused, seeming to mull something over. “It’s none of my business.” This caught my attention as he seemed to be thinking allowed, after a moment he appeared to have made up his mind “has something happened between you and Gear? He’s been a little spacey, more than he normally is I mean.” I knew what he meant by that, I wanted to be able to say something but I knew Richie didn’t want this to come out yet. I honestly didn’t care if other people knew but Richie did.

“It’s personal.” I said rather shortly, I smiled in apology as he nodded, “I thought as much. I’m going to head to the west side of town. If I see anything I’ll let you know. Don’t go playing with any fire extinguishers.” He dropped the serious tone for that last little jab, my cheeks burned as I tried to come up with some sort of come back but he was already gone. I swear I’m never going to live that down!

I hopped back onto my disk and took to the sky, the rush of wind on my face help to blow my thoughts away. I loved this time of the day, school was out, it was pleasantly warm despite the chill that seem to grow cooler by the day, well that and nothing has exploded yet. I hope this weather will hold for tomorrow, I was honestly a little nervous about it. I had gone on a few dates before since becoming Static, my confidence was boosted, all the fighting has helped to help whip me into shape even if I couldn’t show it. People could just tell that there was a difference in me, I was a lot less willing to take crap from people.

I had enjoyed those dates, it was fun but they never really went anywhere. I think my hero work killed any chance of a long term romance, I had to keep this from them for their protection and mine. With Richie it might finally be different. He understood the stress, he could understand why I would be forced to bail part way on a date or an outing because of an emergency that needed my immediate attention, he was going through something similar so he knew what it was like. I could actually talk to him, really talk to him about things and not have to edit or cut down on story, the idea of that kind of freedom with him was almost liberating.

Not to mention he was pretty easy on the eyes. I felt my face warm up as I casually scanned the city for any problems. Richie popped into my mind again, I traced over his features in my mind. His beautiful green eyes that shone brightly in the right light, his sharp jawline, doesn't hurt that he has a cute butt. Yeah he wasn't the only one who would steal a glance from time to time.

I jerked when something small and soft smacked me in the face, I blinked as I spat out a few feathers. I just got hit in the face by a bird. Screw it, I'm calling it a day, I just can't focus right now.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The patrol yesterday was pretty uneventful, Virgil had actually called it in pretty early, surprisingly enough. After a quick patrol later that night we packed it in.

I had two hours before we were going to go out and have our date, I nervously checked myself over in the mirror again. Was my hair alright? I swear I'm going to use up a whole bottle of hair gel to make this stupid tuft of hair stay down! I growled in frustration as I ran a brush through my hair, "why won't you stay down?!"

I tossed the brush aside deciding to give up on it for now. I dug through my closet for something nice to wear, it's a casual date but I don't want to look like I don't care. I found a nice pair of white pants and tossed them on the bed, ok the easy part is over, now for the top. It's been getting pretty cool out as we had officially entered the Fall season. I found a nice light green long sleeved shirt, I took it over to the bed and set them down, not too dressy but not quite right. It's missing something, I turned back to my dresser and dug around a little until my fingers hit something solid, I pulled it out to see my favorite light gray belt that would tie the whole thing together. With a grin of victory I turned back to the bed, my confidence waned as I walked to my planned outfit for the night.

Was it too much? What would Virgil think if I over dressed for our 'casual' date? Thankfully my more analytical based mind refrained from dreaming up in vivid detail all the things that could go wrong while not being of any help at the same time. "You can come up with something as complex as a quantum generator with no input or need but you can't help me figure out what to wear out on a date? What good are you?" I grouced to myself.

I set down the belt and looked over my outfit for a third time, it was good, I'm just overthinking things. That's all it is. I sighed and turned back to the mirror, ready to finish my battle with this stupid lock of hair that refused to stay down!

After about twenty minutes of brushing and a few shots of gel I finally managed to get the rebellious tuft of hair to stay in the place I wanted it. With that out of the way and my outfit picked out I had nothing left to distract myself with, I had one whole hour to wait. I sat down on my bed, careful not to do it on my clothing and get it all wrinkled, and finally let myself think about things.

I don't know what it was exactly but something was making me nervous about this whole thing. Virgil was my best friend, he was my greatest form of support into, what I could only describe as shaky, transition into being a bang baby and my newly found interest in dating my best, very male, friend. I couldn't place what it was but some cruel, snide voice in the back of my head whispered venomously that this was somehow wrong. It whispered how I should be ashamed of myself and how this wasn't natural, all the while being tantalizingly familiar yet somehow indistinguishable from the rest of the buzz going on endlessly in my head. I couldn't quite shake it off but I didn't agree with it either, if I could just pin down the source of it I might be able to finally move on.

A buzzing from my phone broke me free from my thoughts, I checked it to see that it was an alarm I had set for myself earlier. I had thirty minutes left to get ready and leave to meet Virgil at our planned meeting spot, I didn't want my parents to know about this yet before it even got off the ground. I got changed into my chosen outfit and gave myself a final once over in the mirror and nodded to myself convinced that I was ready.

I had walked down the stairs quickly and was just slipping on my shoes when I heard mom's voice behind me "where are you going all dressed up like that?" She was likely getting ready to make dinner, I had 'forgotten' to mention that I was leaving for a date earlier. I plastered on a smile as I placed a hand on the door knob "yeah, sorry but I'm going out on a date tonight. Won't be back until later, love you, bye." Before she could even say anything I was out the door and walking down the sidewalk. Better to avoid getting questioned, she probably won't care that I'm going on a date with Virgil but at the same time I wasn't dumb enough to believe that she wouldn't tell dad about this.

I shook my head and blocked off that wall of thoughts that immediately came to mind at the thought of my dad. No, I'm gonna be happy today. I'm not going to think about it, I'm not gonna let him ruin this, I'm going to enjoy my date with my best friend.

I was caught up in my mental argument when I ended up bumping into someone, said someone wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me against him. Shocked by this I snapped to attention and looked to see that it was just Virgil. I stuttered as my brain began to process what had happened "well hello Richie." I blushed as he let me go, he looked handsome.

Virgil was dressed in a nice pair of black slacks with a light gray long sleeve shirt with a dark red vest over it. "You look so hot…" the words had left my mouth before I could stop them, my mouth immediately snapped shut as I realised what I had said. He chuckled lightly as I felt a blush start on my face "thanks, I glad you like it." I felt my resolve weakening under my embarrassment. He smiled apparently having picked up on my mood decided to change the topic, "We better head out if we want to catch the movie." I smiled gratefully and nodded "yeah, let's go."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We sat side by side in the theater, it was surprisingly empty which left the two of us alone in the back and about 10 or so other people towards the front of the room. No one was paying us any mind, so we essentially had the place to ourselves.

Since we were going to be getting dinner after this we went light on the outrageously overpriced snack foods and were watching the movie playing. I was only paying it half attention at this point, more of my attention was on the hot guy next to me. Richie was watching the movie but I could tell he wasn't really watching it, he had that far off look in his eyes that signified that his mind got ahold of something and was thoroughly tearing it apart, putting it back together and repeating the process. I couldn't imagine what was going through his head right now, the movie was some action movie we both wanted to see at some point but it wasn't something we had to see, so I don't think he would be too mad on missing out on some of it.

I placed a hand on his knee to get his attention, he didn't spook like last time. Blinking owlishly he looked at me a little embarrassed, I paid it no mind as he looked at the screen to try and find where we were in the movie. After seeing he was pretty much hopelessly lost as far as the movie was concerned, I watched as he deflated a little. Nope, not gonna let that happen.

I got his attention again quietly as to not disturb others and to spare him further embarrassment, reluctantly he looked to me having lost the majority of his desire to watch the movie already having missed half of it. "It's ok Rich, you didn't miss much." I gave him a peck on the lips, I had intended for it to be just that but Richie had other ideas it seemed. He kissed me back softly, I completely lost interest in the movie as we started kissing. He tasted sweet from the snacks he had eaten earlier and only served to encourage me to continue, the movie was more than loud enough that it would provide a cover for us.

If you asked me what happened at the end of the movie, I couldn't honestly tell you. We only broke apart when the end credits started to roll and the lights slowly turned up, our lips were swollen as we grabbed what we brought with us and reluctantly made our way out of the theater.

"The movie sucked." "Yeah the book was better anyways." "You read the book?" A few guys passed by us chatting about the movie that we didn't really pay any attention to, Richie looked at me with a joking smile to his face "the movie wasn't all that interesting anyways." "Yeah, it didn't really hold my attention." I checked the clock and saw that it was 7:00pm. "No wonder I'm hungry, how about we go get dinner?" He smiled and nodded in agreement yeah, that sounds good.

We talked as we walked to the small diner, it was a little hole in the wall that only residents would know about. I had been there a few times and found it to be quiet and a place where everyone minded their own business. While Richie seemed a little nervous at the start of the night he looked to be a lot more relaxed and happy. I wanted to make sure this night was perfect.

"So I've never heard of this little diner we're going to, how do you know about it?" I smiled and took a chance, I snuck an arm around his waist and pulled him a little closer to me. He didn't seem to mind which boosted my confidence, "well it's going on to its third generation, my pops found out about it from the owner telling him. He seem to really respect pop's work with the community center, it's a really well hidden spot. You'd think he'd go under by keeping things on the down-low but he has a loyal customer base, I asked if we could come tonight and he was fine with it, we just can't tell anyone else about it. You know, well hidden and all." He nodded and hummed happily to himself, in truth I liked that this place was hidden. It could be our own little spot.

I blinked realising that I had already started making more long term plans in my head. I scolded myself for that moment of impatience and pushed that aside for later. For now I was excited, we had just arrived at the diner, it really was a hidden jem. It was a plain red brick building, no signs, no ash trays, no indication that it was a diner at all. I held back a laugh at Richie's face, he was definitely not convinced that this was a diner or any place that would sell food. I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking that it might have been abandoned, the only indication that it was still being used was the soft lights inside and the lack of graffiti on the outside walls.

He looked at me with a raised brow, "are you sure this is the place?" I responded by opening the door and holding it for him as if to say 'after you'. He reluctantly stepped inside, I was still outside but I was hit by the most heavenly smell from within. I saw all doubts melt off his face as he took in the smell. I stepped in after him as an older woman, she looked about 10 years older than pops was, and smiled at me warmly. "As I live and breathe! Virgil is that you? Why I haven't seen you since you were knee high to a grasshopper!"

I blushed a little bashful "Hello Mrs.-" she cut me off immediately "now Virgil you outta know better than that by now! Call me Aunty dear. Now, who is your friend here?" She turned to Richie and greeted him warmly with a slight southern twang to her voice. "Aunty, this is my date, Richie. I mentioned him earlier when I was making the reservation-" "well! He certainly is a cutie isn't he? Come now, I have a table ready for you both." She walked off with a bright smile. Richie looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him now.

"I know Aunty is a little… much, but she is a super sweet woman." His face was about as red as mine as we followed her, lucky enough the inner restaurant was separated by a fairly thick wall so no one had really heard anything Aunty had said, sparing us both what would have likely been a few curious glances from the few people that were here. The dining area was pretty small, only seating about thirty people, there were a few couples here and what seemed like a small party. We were lead to a small table just off to the side, it was by a one way window that you could look out of but not be seen through. The outside had a gorgeous view of the city, it was starting to get dark out and the lights started to come on in response to the time.

Aunty left to tend to the front of the house, leaving us with a pretty young server who handed us a few menus. "Hello gentlemen, what can start you off with tonight?" She was smiling politely as we gave the drink menu a quick look over, after we gave her our drink orders she lingered around for a few moments. She was looking me over for an uncomfortable few seconds before she turned away to get our drinks and give us time to decide on our order, I ducked my head to look into the menu to try and hide my discomfort but a soft snort from Richie caught my attention. I looked to see him frowning at the waitress as she left, he shook his head with a look of mild annoyance as he scanned his own menu.

I was about to make a comment but thought better on it. No need to do anything yet so I decided to steer the focus into calmer waters "what do you think you're going to get?" He blinked and looked up almost startled by the question, I smiled as I waited for him. "Oh, um, I was thinking the chicken?" He paid the menu slightly closer attention, I had already decided on what I wanted since I had already been here several times already. "Yeah it's pretty good, I was thinking about getting the meatloaf sandwich myself." He cracked a smile at that "as long as your sister isn't making it right?" I think I turned visibly green at the thought of my sister's cooking because Richie was actually leaning back a bit but he seemed to relax a little.

He seem to have made up his mind and set down his menu, he smiled genuinely "thanks for this Virgil, it's been a really nice night." Before I could respond the waitress came back with our drinks setting them down somewhat abruptly, we both flinched slightly as she pulled out her little notepad and a pen to take down our order. She didn't really pay Richie any mind when he was telling her what he wanted, her attention was mainly focused on me. "Alright cutie, I'll be back with your orders as soon as it's ready!" She smiled and walked over to one of the other tables, as soon as she was out of earshot I gave Richie a look and murmured quietly "well someone isn't getting a tip tonight." I grumbled in annoyance, he chuckled lightly but I could see that this clearly bothered him. "Yeah, I mean could she make it any more obvious? She's not even trying to be subtle about it or anything." "Think I should say something?" He shook his head as a devilish smirk came to his face. "Nah man, I have an idea."

I quirked a brow but didn't say anything, we talked quietly to ourselves but I could tell he was waiting for something. Since not that many people were here it didn't take that long for our food to be ready, the waitress came back with a wide smile as she set our food down, leaning over the table enough for me to get an eye full of her cleavage, I averted my eyes with an uncomfortable blush coming to my face. I caught a glance at Richie who paid the display no mind until she backed off to set his food down in front of him. Once she had stepped back from the table and was ready to ask if we needed anything else Richie reached across the small table and pulled me gently into a kiss. The soft gasp went unnoticed as he pulled back with an innocent smile to his lips and a devilish gleam in his eye.

The woman quickly excused herself as he let the innocence slide off of his face, "oh you're evil." His smile widened a little with a light chuckle "I try." This was another side of Richie I had yet to really see and I was liking it. We ate our meal and talked about what we were going to do for the rest of the week, "I vote we have a zombie slayer marathon, think you can keep up?" "Yeah you know it! But just playing sounds a little boring, don't you think?" "Oh? You want to make it interesting?" "The winner gets to claim whatever prize he wants?" I smiled and nodded my agreement.

It was nice that we could still talk like we did before this, we'd still be able to talk and play games together. It was something I was a little nervous about at first, we were still feeling things out and I didn't want to lose the fun we had when we were friends.

When we finished our meal the check was brought to us by Aunty. She was grumbling softly about her 'lazy waitress' not wanting to come back out here for the night. Richie smiled with only a hint of remorse for his part in her refusal to come back, I personally didn't mind if she didn't come back after she made a fool of herself. Before Ritchie could even reach back to grab his wallet for his half of the bill I pulled out the money for the bill and a tip for Aunty, he looked like he wanted to protest but stopped himself probably knowing I wouldn't take no for an answer.

We both thanked Aunty then took our leave. When we got out of the door Richie wrapped an arm around my waist which caught me by surprise, "next time, I'm going to pick up the bill." He was being stern but his smile gave him away, worth it. "Thanks for tonight Virgil, it really means a lot." Totally worth it.

A pleasant silence fell over us as we both walked to the halfway point to our houses, Richie was warm against my side which made it easy for me to ignore the chill in the air. I had 'accidentally' taken the long route to his house, it could have just been my unconscious desire to let this last just a little bit longer. Eventually we made it to the drop off point were he would walk home on his own. He spared a quick glance around us before leaning in and giving me a quick but passionate kiss, it ended far too soon as he pulled back with a sweet smile then turned around and started to walk home. He didn't need to say anything in that moment.

"I love you too Richie." I waited for a moment longer before turning to head home myself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! Happy to add a chapter to my little pet project.
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below, I love chatting with people!
> 
> ~Enjoy

I stepped into the house quietly, fully intending to sneak up to my room but fate seems to have decided that my good fortune up to this point would come to an end. "Richie?" Dad's booming voice called out from the kitchen, he wasn't mad or anything like that it was just the deepness of his voice. "I'm back dad." I tried to make a break for my room but before I could make it to the stairs I felt him clap a hand on my shoulder and pull me back, he circled an arm around my shoulders turning me around to the kitchen.

"When your mother told me you actually went out on a date, I didn't believe her." He was clearly amused as he sat down at the table and motioned for me to do the same, I did so hesitantly and he smiled as he continued "I said there was no freaking way! I've never heard you talking about any of the girls in school, it's always Virgil, Virgil, Virgil, so imagine my surprise when you come back looking all dressed up!"

My smile strained as he mentioned Virgil's name "I'm glad you've finally found a nice girl for yourself. What's her name? What's she like? Is she a looker?" He was nudging me playfully as my mind raced to come up with something as he waited expectantly, "well, um I, dad this isn't something I want to talk about yet. I mean it was our first date, I'd rather not jinx it." My smile became even more strained as I begged to a higher power that he would buy it.

His face fell a little but he nodded and thankfully left it alone. "Well ok son. You know, I was worried for a while that you might be one of those gays. I can't tell you how relieved I was when your mom told me you were out on a date." He laughed but I could tell he was being serious, "they're part of the problem, just like those… nevermind that." He seem to catch himself and smiled apologetically "Old habits; anyways, like I was saying before, I'm glad your not one of those homos, boys are supposed to like girls. That's the way it's always been-"

I nodded along as he spoke, he was definitely trying to change now but there were some things I doubt he'd ever be able to change and that's what worries me. 'I hate to break your heart dad, but I'm not straight.' I thought bitterly to myself. I came up with some excuse to get away from his homophobic rant, honestly he was just repeating himself at this point. He was so embarrassing, he was never violent with me (barring the occasional spanking when I was younger) but I had no doubt he would throw me out on my butt… or have me go live with a relative. A shudder ran through me at the idea of being forced to move away, I couldn't lose this, not now.

"Sorry dad but its been a long night so I think I'm going to turn in now. Good night." He seemed a little disappointed by the abrupt stop but he seem to be in too good of a mood to really put up a fight and thankfully let me leave the table and the conversion much to my relief. "Good night son."

I only felt myself relaxing a little when my door was firmly shut behind me, little prickles of unease robbed me of some of my earlier happiness. "He's trying Richie. He's trying." I vaguely acknowledged the source of that venomous little voice in the back of my head, now that I had a better grasp where it had come from it should be a lot easier to deal with now, or ignore. 'I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.' I dismissed the matter with a snort.

Enough of this for tonight, I had a great time with my best friend, the person who understood me and didn't treat me any differently for it. My annoyance melted away with a pleasant wave of warmth that left me happy.

I haven't been this happy in a while now that I thought about it. Yes I'm happy, Virgil has been the brightest light in my life since I moved here all those years ago. We moved here for dad's work, I was the thin pale kid that would have been eaten alive. I had no friends in the last place we lived, I was always the favorite target so even those who didn't get it as bad as I did would pick on me to avoid the worst of it, or to take out some of their frustrations on me since I was the school's punching bag. Walking into the classroom that day I had fully expected everyone in that classroom to single me out, instead the first thing I noticed was Virgil. He looked at me and smiled, it wasn't the smile of someone who had found a new target, it was one of someone who was genuinely happy to meet me. I think it was then that I felt something was different. I had friends other then Virgil now but none of them had that spark, I liked them only as friends. Virgil was special.

I grabbed my pillow and hugged it to my chest. I love him. I don't think I was ready to say it yet, not yet. That comes later.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I didn't bother with the front door deciding instead to fly in through the window I had left unlocked for myself. I didn't need to get grilled by Sharon just as I got home. I didn't tell her when I left earlier that I was going out on a date, only that I was heading out and to not save me a plate. She likely planned to grill me when I got home, no sense in making things more difficult for myself after all. Richie wanted to keep things private and I was going to respect his wishes.

I changed into my casual clothing and flopped down on my bed with a sigh of content. This night was amazing, when Richie kissed me over the table I thought my knees would buckle I was lucky to still be sitting. It sort of felt like he was laying his claim in front of her, this man is mine sort of deal. I felt my face (amongst other places) start to heat up, that little possessive display was getting me a little hot under the collar. I bit my lip and rolled onto my side so that I would be facing away from the door. 'Dammit Richie, getting me all worked up'

I grumbled inwardly before pushing myself up off the bed, "better let dad know I'm home and get grilled by Sharon." I walked to the window and after making sure I had the all clear, I hopped out and silently drifted down to the side of the house and stashing away my disk to be retrieved later. Walking through the front door I saw Sharon, who was sitting on the couch, suddenly stood up and spin around on her heel to face me. "And where have you been all night?" She seem rather put out with me skipping dinner again "I made hamburgers tonight, you like hamburgers so why would you skip?"

I smiled as I thought of what I was doing tonight, "sorry Sharon, maybe next time." They likely weren't cooked all the way through, I've bitten into more than a few that were straight up raw on the inside while resembling hardened balls of coal on the outside. She huffed but it was late and her favorite show was about to come on but I caught the look that told me that she was clearly contemplating whether or not she wanted to continue grilling me or watch her show.

I guessed me leaving to the kitchen made the decision for her as she didn't follow me. I found Pops bent over a small pot on a burner, a can of soup was partially hidden from view as he quietly worked to cook something for himself to eat. I noticed a plate with blackened flakes and had a little bit of blood on it by the trash can. He about jumped when he heard me enter the kitchen but quickly relaxed when he saw it was me instead of Sharon. I chose not to acknowledge the empty plate by the trash can, he most likely forgot that it was there so I grabbed it and carefully put it in the sink with a nod, he smiled in thanks as he looked back at his pot of soup.

I pointed up to my room to say I was going to bed for the night and he waved me off with a nod and a soft "Good night son."

I headed upstairs to finally call it a night. Once I was back in my room I flopped down tiredly on my bed intending on going right to sleep… well that was the plan anyways. I was caught in that extremely annoying faze where I wanted to go to bed but my body just wouldn't comply. I rolled over in bed a few times before I gave up and just stared at the ceiling.

I found that Richie kept popping into my mind, the kiss at the restaurant was so possessive and dominating, he was making it clear to the waitress that I was on a date with him and he wasn't going to take her flirting with me so openly was pretty hot. I bit my lip as I thought more of him, he was a lot firmer than I was used too which made it feel a little weird, but it was comfortable.

I caught my hand drifting down and quickly stopped myself long enough to fire a bolt at the doorknob, more specifically, at the lock. Sharon has been getting too comfortable with just barging in my room lately and I'd rather drop dead then have her walk in on me rubbing one out.

The thought of Richie quickly drowned everything else out as my hand drifted downwards again. I imagined that it was his hand trailing down my chest, grazing a few of my sensitive spots, just a few of them. He doesn't quite know my body as well as I do, his hands roaming and feeling, brushing close to them but not always finding the right mark was working me up. I bit into my knuckle to keep myself from moaning out loud 'you being shy or is this not feeling good?' He would whisper the question softly in my ear, he was just as nervous as I was but he was more confident than me 'just relax, let me take care of you.'

His firm tone would broker no argument so I just let him do what he said. It felt odd as his hand trailed down slowly but with a clear goal of where it was going. 'We'll take it nice and slow' he spoke the words softly as the hand grabbed my dick with a gentle but firm grip, just how I liked it. I bit down harder, not enough to draw blood but more than enough to keep me from moaning out as he started to stroke me.

He chuckled softly as he watched over my shoulder, I was certain I was blushing now. His hand starting to slowly pump my dick all the while he would whisper compliments in my ear, 'You're a handsome man Virgil. You deserve more praise then you get.' He started to put his other hand to use now, I found myself biting my pillow to keep the noise down now.

His other hand seem to have more luck in finding my sweet spots as his other worked me up even more. I was panting into the pillow as he began to pick up the pace, finally. It felt strangely good to be the one being taken care of rather than the other way around, hell, much more of this and I'll have to start seriously thinking about what I'll want out of this relationship more than I have before.

Despite the pillow clenched in my teeth I could hear myself let out a soft moan as Richie was getting me closer and closer to coming. "Richie please" I allowed myself to whisper though it came out as more of a restrained moan in response he tightened his grip ever so slightly and sped up his hand enough to have me bucking into that pleasant warmth that was driving me crazy.

I buried my face into the pillow to muffle the groans of pleasure that were coming from me even with my efforts to stay quiet. I nearly choked as something in me snapped, I saw pure white as a surge of pure electricity shot through me, it was far more intense than anything I've ever felt before. When my vision cleared up I could feel the tingles of pleasure with every movement. It's never been this intense, I barely had enough energy to move to grab a tissue to clean myself up.

When that task was done I stripped down to my night clothes and laid down in bed… and didn't fall asleep. Dammit. I was right on the edge of sleep but something was floating around in the back of my mind. How do two guys do it? I mean I know how men and women have sex but two guys? What would that even feel like? My face was burning as I thought about it more, I never actually, well, I still have my v-card.

I found the energy to pull the blankets up over myself to hide away from the embarrassment but the question was in my head now. "End me now." With a tired groan and an eye roll I tried to make myself as comfortable as possible to try to get some sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day was fairly uneventful, I met Richie at the gas station to help rearrange some of the junk that he swore up and down that it was still useful. A few things looked useful but others looked so rusted that I couldn't honestly tell you what it was before time and poor conditions turned it into a solid piece of rust that could be passed off as 'art' if you squinted at it hard enough.

Richie seemed to be really excited though, for some reason he was fixated on making a high energy output power generator. I couldn't say what he wanted it for and when I would ask he would start explaining before quickly losing track of the question and he started rambling on various numbers of different ideas that would spring to mind. I listened as he rambled through three separate ideas that had nothing to do with each other as we carried the heavy boxes of supplies to his makeshift workstation. 

I made sure to not let the strain of carrying the heavy boxes show on my face, even in my electromagnetic field the boxes were floating a little lower than I would have liked. The giddy excitement coupled with how happy he was made the weight of the boxes feel like almost nothing, almost. "Richie, these things are heavy, are we almost there?" He was pulled from his racing thoughts and his half rambles to blink at me then smile a bit sheepishly, he jerked his head over to a cleared spot on the floor that was thankfully close so I could set the boxes down.

As he was setting his own boxes down, I tried to keep my eyes firmly planted on this interesting patch of dirt on the wall instead of his butt, his incredibly cute butt. "So Richie where did you get this stuff from?" I blurted out a little more quickly then I had meant to, Richie didn't seem to notice as he smiled at the supplies before turning to me "when I was out on patrol I found a few things here and there, all trash, of course. I can't believe people would actually throw this stuff out can you believe it?" His enthusiasm was so infectious that I didn't even notice when one of the lighter boxes (that was at least 30+ pounds) came crashing down on my foot.

"Holy!" Richie jerked back as I set the rest of the boxes down, somehow unaware of the box that was still on my foot. "Virgil! Doesn't that hurt?!" He rushed and pulled the box off my foot with a grunt of effort, he then pushed me back until I was sat down on the couch. "You could have broken your foot! Does it hurt? Can you feel it? We need to get this shoe off!" I pushed him back and took the shoe off myself with a slight hiss, now that I took it off I could feel the soreness and see it start to swell up a little.

Richie for his part was freaking out, saying how he knew the boxes were too full. I held back the urge to roll my eyes choosing instead to grab ahold of his arm and pulling him into my lap, quickly pulling up the face shield of his helmet. "Virg- hmnn" I silenced his rambling with a kiss, he pushed back against me in a weak attempt to get me to stop but he quickly gave it and relaxed against me. "You're rambling Richie" he gave a half hearted smile "well why don't you shut me up?" I smiled and pulled him closer to me, I pulled the helmet off completely and pulled him into another kiss.

He buried his hand in my dreads as I pulled him into a more comfortable position in my lap, previous concerns and plans completely forgotten as I kissed him further. "Mhm, Virgil!" Oops, he noticed. My hand must have slipped down and grabbed his ass with a squeeze. "Sorry, it seems to have a mind of its own." He gave a little eye roll and pulled me back into a kiss.

I felt his hands slowly roaming around my chest. Since becoming Static I had plenty of more time to work out, a fact that Richie seem to be appreciating. His hands came together in the center of my chest and pushed me down so I was laid out before him. I felt a bit nervous but Richie smiled at me confidently and kissed me again, this was so nice, he tasted sweet for some reason, probably snuck into the chocolate bag again. I would have been happy to stay like this but a shrill beeping from Backpack scared us both. We both knew it as a metahuman alert, I was just getting up when I caught sight of Rubberband Man. He was standing in the doorway of the gas station with wide eyes, he had clearly just walked in on us and didn't have a chance to turn around and leave before Backpack sounded off, alerting us both.

I sat up quickly as my mind whirled to come up with something to say, my eyes were firmy on Adam while I would feel the waves of tension rolling off of Richie who had probably froze in terror. After what felt like an eternity Adam finally broke the quiet while throwing up his hands in surrender "none of my business. Just wanted to check and see what was keeping you from being out there but you're both busy. I'm just going to leave now." With that he turned on his heel and left.

Once he was gone Richie took a deep, almost gasping breath of air like he had forgotten how to breathe. I looked to him as the panic on his face dissipated into a nervous laughter "he saw us." I wanted to reach out and comfort him but something told me to hold off, it rang in my head like an alarm that this would only make things worse. I placed my hand firmly on my lap to that I could make sure I didn't reach out and grab him but it pained me to not be able to help him.

A few minutes and deep breaths later logic seem to reassert itself and Richie's near panicked laugher petered off into a choked hiccuping that he seem to be fighting to get under control. I waited for him to say anything as he turned away from me in a mixture of shame and annoyance, I think this little loss of control had stung his pride more than anything else.

Richie ran a hand through his hair before he looked at me again, his face was decidedly neutral but his eyes gave him away "sorry about that V. I just wasn't ready for that to happen." It wasn't what I wanted to hear and he knew it. "Richie… What was that about?" I ventured carefully, I wanted to give him his space but it twisted a sore spot to think that he was keeping what was hurting him from me. He stayed quiet for a minute, a war of wills raging between us, me wanting to help vs him wanting to brush it off and ignore it. Finally he slumped a little and turned away a little from me "I'm sorry Virgil. It's personal and I'm quite not ready to talk about it right now." The slight quaver in his voice told me that if I really pushed him I could get an answer.

"It's ok Rich. Just promise you'll tell me when you're ready." I made sure to keep as much of the hurt in my voice as I could so I wouldn't make him feel any worse than he already was, I was rewarded with a grateful smile from him as he stood up and retrieved his helmet. I stood up myself and put on my mask and put my shoe back on, repressing another hiss of pain. "I'm gonna head out on a patrol, I'll see you later."

He remained quiet but waved me goodbye as I partly limped out of the door. My foot was hurting like mad but it didn't hurt as bad as the sting of Richie not talking to me, I wouldn't push yet but something was clearly bothering him. If he would just tell me I could at least try and help him. Sighing, I hopped over my flight disc and took to the air, thinking endlessly on it won't do anything but make me feel worse so I may as well go on patrol like I said I would.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once I was sure he was gone I buried my head in my hands with a shuddering sigh. "So much for being able to control it." My nerves had gotten the better of me again. The sight of Adam looking at us with shock and incomprehension that morphed into surprise and realization hit me harder then someone taking a swing at me with a bag full of bricks.

I needed something to busy myself with, I was always at my best when I had a project to work on. I dug a few rusted components out of one of the nearby boxes and recoiled slightly at the rusty scraps of machinery. Virgil was right, a lot of this stuff really was junk.

I stood up and walked over to one of the cabinets I had repaired/rebuilt and pulled out a number of strong cleaning solutions and acids that were for my projects. I then spent the next ten or so minutes either carefully submerging the pieces or scrubbing rust off of the scraps with a wife scrub brush, the acrid smell of the solutions turned my stomach but were familiar enough that it wasn't a deterrent.

As my hands worked on the scraps before me, my mind began to really process what had happened earlier. Rubberband Man totally saw us, probably had a good long look too. Adam normally minded his own business and we'd only really cross paths when we were on patrol or when we would most commonly bumped shoulders at Virgil's house when he was visiting Sharon. Now that I had a little more time to think about it, I wasn't upset that Adam knew but the idea that he could accidentally let it slip to Sharon who, while having good intentions, tend to insert herself into other people's problems without their consent or with little concern for their feelings.

I could see her going straight to Virgil to interrogate him and once she knew more about my reluctance to go public about it she would probably go to my parents to find out why and I would be outed. Dad has been trying, he has even been catching himself so he can change but this coming out? I'm pretty sure that this would undo it all. He needed to let this change in his thinking really sink in before I would dare risk trying to talk to him about my love life… or my sexuality. That waitress had absolutely no ties to my family so showing her up was safe enough.

I set the materials aside, crossed my arms and rested my head on them. Backpack must have sensed my distress and walked over to me and rested a small leg on my arm in a comforting motion, he didn't really understand how it was supposed to help but he must have seen me or Virgil do it enough times to pick it up. I groaned allowed before turning my head to look at him. Here was my greatest invention. My pride and joy, something that I've spent endless sleepless hours working on until it was to the level of near centiance just short of true self awareness.

"What am I going to do Backpack?" He booped at me a few times but I wasn't in the mood to have a full conversation about this with my robot. "I think I need to take a little break, I'm going to go sit out on the rooftop to get some fresh air. Could you make sure those don't sit in the chemicals too long?" I pointed to the components still soaking in the containers. Backpack beeped his confirmation which brought a smile to my face "thanks buddy."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't do trigger warnings but this chapter contains homophobia, I have been treading a fine line with how explicit I wanted it to be. Tell me how I did below, I love chatting with all my little duckies!
> 
> ~Enjoy

Richie wouldn't talk about what was bothering him, he would either change the topic or make something up and bolt. I brought it up casually a few times to test the waters but he wasn't going to budge.

I was sitting with Daisy after our final class had let out for the day, we had gotten assigned together on a project at random while Richie got signed with someone else. I didn't mind and Richie seem to appreciate the space it gave us. Daisy was excitedly talking about the project but I wasn't really paying attention. "Virgil! Come on, focus!" I jerked to attention with a start, Daisy glared at me with no real anger "we have a project to work on. We need to figure out how we're going to split this up."

I nodded as she began to divide the project up fairly between us but my head was somewhere else. What was bothering Richie so much? I also needed to talk with Adam, I didn't expect him to say anything to anyone as he had the policy of minding his own business but if I could help to ease Richie's fears then maybe he'll tell me what's up.

Daisy slammed a heavy book down on the table which made me jump. Her patience was clearly thinning as her glare became more genuine "Virgil pay attention! What's wrong with you?" I considered lying for a moment but shook the thought loose. "Sorry. I've just been thinking about personal things, what were you saying?" She sighed and shook her head as if to say she was giving up "you're out of it, what's up?" She had that face that said she knew what it was about but wanted me to be the one to say it.

I bit the inside of my cheek as I considered how much I could tell her and how much I wanted her to know. "It's complicated." She folded her hands and waited for me to elaborate "let's just say I'm having some minor trust issues with someone and while I'm trying to be respectful, it still bothers me that I can't help." She nodded taking the hint "If this person doesn't want to talk then you should be patient. I'm sure he'll come around in time." With that said she patted my shoulder and left me with my thoughts and a sheet of paper with my half of the project on it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I was taking my time with picking out the books I needed for my project, my partner had readily agreed to me doing the work as long as he wrote it all down and edited it. Give me complex equations, robotics or a blank set of blueprints to work on and I'll be finished before you had left the room but plant my butt in a seat, tell me to write you a 500 word creative freedom English report and I'll either stare blankly at the screen lost in my own head or I'll completely forget what I was doing and only remember if it was time to turn it in.

"You can build an advanced, nearly sentient robot but you can't write a paper or be honest with your boyfriend, Foley." I grumbled under my breath as I pulled out the books I needed a lot more roughly then warranted. I flipped it over to be sure it was the volume I actually needed before jamming it under my arm before turning back to the table I had commandeered for my cram session.

Once I unloaded my burden onto the table I sat down and cracked open one of the books. My eyes absent mindedly scanned the pages as my mind broke loose from the necessity of paying attention to my environment long enough to not walk into a wall or crash into someone.

What am I going to do? Virgil is concerned and the reason I'm all worked up is stupid… right? Am I right for being this concerned? I know I could make some serious money off of selling some of my more harmless inventions so I could reasonably be able to support myself if I was forced to leave. I know Mr. Hawkins would never let me live on the streets but I didn't want to burden them like that.

I flipped to the next page as a new thought took root in my head. How would Virgil take this news? Would it dissolve our relationship before it really has had a chance to take off? I bit my knuckle almost hard enough to draw blood as my nerves began to take over, the hand that wasn't being assaulted by my fears was messily scrawling down notes that would need to be cleaned up before I could pass them off to my partner. I happened to look at them to see that some of my fears had slipped onto the paper "shit!"

I quickly worked to erase half of what I had scrawled down "I'm gonna have redo this now." I huffed almost angrily before setting down the eraser completely.

I have to talk to Virgil. Maybe if I just come clean I might feel better. It's getting; difficult, to keep this to myself. My hand was shaking as I grabbed my mini shock box that we'd use as they had become somewhat recognisable by the public. "Virgil, We need to talk. I'm going to head to HQ, see you there." I got a quick confirmation from V before putting it away and packing up my bag.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I got to the gas station after Virgil had because I walked in to see him talking softly to Backpack. I waited for him to notice me as Backpack chirped and booped before turning around and walking back to his charging station. Virgil turned around and jumped slightly as he hadn't heard me walk in, despite my stomach trying to twist itself into a knot over what I was about to come clean about, I was curious about what he and Backpack were talking about. "I thought he was fully charged. Is something wrong with his batteries?" Virgil shook his head before walking over to sit down on the couch "nah, I was just asking for a little privacy is all."

I nodded as he waited for me, I didn't join him right away, I couldn't sit down, hell I couldn't even look him in the eye as I tried to find a starting place. Virgil sat quietly and waited patiently for me to talk, I appreciated that as I gathered up my nerve.

"When we started dating I was excited. I was happy, I still am happy. All of this has been amazing but something has been weighing in the back of my mind. I was ignoring it at first but what started out as a whisper in the back of my head has grown stronger." I dared a glance to see him intently listening, I took a deep breath as I prepared myself for what I was about to say "boys are supposed to like girls." I didn't want to look now but I still caught how his brows knit in confusion. "When I got home from out amazing date I didn't make it up to my room without being noticed. My dad was there and he was excited to hear that I went out on a date. He was so proud that his son went on a date… with a 'woman'."

I saw his eyes widen as I continued, once the lid came off it was impossible to jam it back on without either of us getting hurt. "I neither confirmed nor denied who I went out with and ran as soon as I could. Dad has been trying. He's been really trying and I don't want to undo all of that." I couldn't look at him, I was too scared to see his reaction. Is he mad? Insulted? Does he still even want to be around me? I'm being such a coward about this-

"Are you ashamed of us dating?"

My head snapped around to meet his hurt expression, he had spoken so softly that I was surprised I caught it. "No! I'm not ashamed! I didn't mean it like that. I just, I've grown up hearing that gay people and black people are the problem with the world. I made up my mind on the race issue, my Dad had the problem, not me. But to grow up hearing on a regular basis that I should like women and it's a problem that I don't, that liking boys makes me the problem." That probably made no sense at all. I'm making a fool of myself and hurting him-

"Richie! Stop." Virgil grabbed my shoulder and turned me around to face him. I still couldn't look him in the eye but Virgil wasn't having any of that. "Richie, please look at me." His voice was soft but had an underlying firmness that I couldn't deny, I very reluctantly looked him in the eye to see his face stern but concerned. "Richie, are you gay?" I blinked. Of all the things I expected him to say, that wasn't even on the list. I opened my mouth to answer but nothing came.

Was I gay? I had convinced myself that I was bisexual, I tried thinking about any of the girls from class to prove it but it wasn't working, did it ever actually work to begin with? I only ever really thought about Virgil. I always got jealous when he looked at or talked about girls, why wouldn't he look at me like that? Like he was doing now… "I don't, I mean." I stopped and closed my eyes. "Yes. I think I'm gay."

He hugged me, I shivered a little as I hugged back. "It's ok to be gay Richie." "I'm still not sure about that but I trust you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hearing Richie bear his soul hurt. It hurts so much to hear what had been eating away at him this whole time, to know that his father was at fault again.

Richie had grown up hearing that not only would his father not accept his best friend for something as stupid as the color of my skin but that he wouldn't be accepted for something that was completely out of his control. "It's ok to be gay Richie." I really meant it. "I'm still not sure about that but I trust you." I suppressed a wince, small steps.

We stayed like that for a while until Richie was able to compose himself. He turned away to wipe his eyes and reclaim some form of dignity, "thanks Virgil. I need some time to think about things. I also need to organize my notes for my project." He didn't wait for me to answer him.

Once I was sure he was gone I let go of the breath I didn't know I was holding. I needed to do a patrol today so I went and got changed into my Static costume and threw down my shock disk. Maybe a flight will help me clear my head.

I flew high amongst the high rise buildings that made up downtown Dakota, trained eyes scanning the ground below for any signs of trouble. I had been a little distracted as of late with Richie and it seems that Hotstreak's temper tantrum had finally run its course. Talon had been spotted again yesterday, this time instead of it being a harmless passing by she had actively been on the attack. Rubberband Man was the one who took her down, it turned out that she had been actively trying to break into an ATM when Rubberband Man rolled up on the scene.

Speak of the devil. I landed down next to him as he scanned the street below, "anything?" "No." I nodded and hopped back onto my disk intending to fly away but his voice caught my attention. "I'm not going to say anything. It's none of my business." I paused before responding "thanks. It's a rather sensitive matter and we don't want certain people to know." He nodded as I flew off in the opposite direction.

Three hours and several new bruises later I returned home. Cameron Dillo had given me a real workout today by sending me crashing into someone's fire escape, causing some rather significant damage to it (and my ribs) in the process. I actually had to check to make sure that he hadn't actually managed to break any of them, I thought I had gotten lucky and got away with only a nice sized bruise that had ran from the blade of my shoulder down to the top of my hip and wrapped around to where it ran a few inches along my ribs from the way I had crashed into the heavy metal platform. After the initial shock of the ambush had passed I somehow managed to catch one of his legs in a thick piece of metal, it didn't stop him but it had slowed him down and kept him from being able to fully curl up for another attack. I used this time to lift a heavy dumpster up and use it to pin him to the ground under it's sheer weight. After that I set off a nearby alarm to get someone's attention, fully confident that Cameron couldn't get up. My aching ribs and this take down making a rather compelling argument to fix the fire escape and leave the rest of this up to the cops to finish.

It was mid evening before I got home, my left side was killing me but I pushed it aside. I had suffered worse. "I am definitely going to be feeling this in the morning." I was favoring my right side as I reached up to open the door, when I stepped in I wasn't greeted by the smell of my sister's cooking for once. Pops was sitting on the couch having apparently just got home judging by how tired he looked. "Hey dad. I'm gonna head up to my room, I got a project to work on in school." I had intended to do what I said but dad seem to have a different plan in mind, "Virgil come sit with me for a minute son."

I wanted to go lay down but I walked over and sat down on the couch with him. "You've been saying out late a lot more often lately." I smiled, I had plenty of excuses and dodges ready for this line of questioning. "Yeah, I've been busy lately." Don't get defensive or let on that you know anything and see where this goes. "Have you been seeing anyone?" I felt a jolt of shock run through me but I decided to play dumb "just Richie." He shook his head as if I had misunderstood him "no, no. I mean have you been 'seeing' anyone? I haven't seen you this happy in a while Virgil." Ok now he's getting warmer. "Nah, I'm not going to say I haven't taken an interest in someone but we're still feeling things out."

He smiled and thankfully dropped the topic, patting my bruised shoulder unaware of my injury. I couldn't repress the wince of pain from him patting my bruise, my luck that had been running for most of the day had finally ran out. "Are you ok?" The smile I forced was painfully obvious, the raised brow told me I wasn't going to get away with a lie so easily. "I was out earlier today and I ran into one of those bang babies. I took a hit but it's nothing to worry about, its just a bruise." I hoped that was enough but it didn't seem to be enough to satisfy him. "Let me take a look."

I had wanted to refuse but that would just make things worse. Reluctantly I pulled up my shirt and turned for him to get a look at the darkened bruise, he gasped sharply at the sight "Virgil that is not 'just a bruise'!" I went to pull my shirt down but pops had a hold on it now and he wasn't having any of it. "It looks a lot worse than it is, I swear!" Before I could say anything else the front door opened, I couldn't see who it was but I knew it was Sharon.

I could only imagine the sight before her was odd, she had started to say something but she stopped herself with a shriek of surprise and fear "Oh my lord what happened to him?!" Great. This couldn't get better. "I'm fine. This time I was able to pull my shirt down with my better hand "It looks a lot worse than it is." I turned to see their incredulous looks, Sharon turned on her heel and grabbed her keys "I'm gonna take you to the emergency room! There's no way you can't be hurt!" "Sharon it's just a freaking bruise!" It was no use as dad pinned me with one of those glares that told me I was going whether I liked it or not.

I wanted to just run up the stairs and lock myself in but I was exhausted and sore so I just gave in and went with her. On the way to the emergency room I got an earful from her about how 'dangerous it was to be out now a days' and how I 'could have been killed'. I put up with it all as I made sure to lean on my good side, I only lost my patients when she started repeating herself for the third time "Sharon! I get it ok?" I instantly regretted it as her face screwed up in anger with a tint of sorrow.

"Virgil you don't really talk to us anymore. All I know is that you spend most of your time with Richie, nothing else. We used to be able to talk but you've been distancing yourself, it's almost like you can't trust me or daddy anymore." She had managed just the right blend of anger and guilt tripping to have me shrink away from her. "I'm sorry Sharon." The words sounded lame coming from me "I thought it was bad when you would come home with bruises and black eyes, now you're coming home with sprains, burns, even bigger bruises. It's like you're intentionally putting yourself in danger or something!"

This is bad, I needed to redirect this line of questioning before she starts making conclusions, right or not. "Sharon things have gotten more dangerous as of late. I'm being as careful as I can but I'm not bulletproof. I can't be aware of each and every little thing out of everything that's going on around me even when I try but at the same time I can't not go out. I can't be boarded up in the house 24/7, I can't not go to school, I can't not socialise and I can't be 100% safe all the. It wasn't like that before the bang babies came and it certainly won't be like that after the bang. It's just something we have to learn how to live with."

She looked like she wanted to argue but she had nothing she could say against that. She couldn't protect me my whole life and we would only grow bitter if she tried and forced it, pop's didn't seem happy about it himself but he seem to have a lot more respect for this fact and has refrained from locking me in my room with a bubble wrapped suit opposed to Sharon who would have done all of that with the added condition that the room be thoroughly padded.

We drove the rest of the way in silence, I wouldn't talk anymore about it and she used the time to digest what I had said. Once we were out of the clinic it turned out that I actually had 2 cracked ribs from Cameron dillo's attack, I was wrapped up in bandages like a mummy, given a short term prescription for pain pills and ordered to take it easy for a few weeks. My poor body just can't seem to get a break it seems. I wasn't going to listen, Dekoda needed me and Static couldn't go quiet for too long, even if it was to recover from an injury.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I don't know how long I lay staring at the ceiling. I had sent my mess of notes off earlier to my project partner and I actually had a day scheduled off from patrols or hero work today. When I joined the ranks of the 'Defenders of Dakoda', I quickly learned just how much of a drain it was both mentally and physically. I really needed to apologize to Virgil for always hounding him about wanting to work out more patrols, more efficient ways for him to better watch over Dakota when the poor guy just wanted to play a video game or just listen to music.

I know that when Adam stepped up that Virgil got a little defensive and was generally upset at first, he thought he was being upstaged when he was the only bang baby actually working to protect the city. It would take some time for him to come to terms that he wasn't the only one getting praise for helping to control the explosion of the city's crime problem, that this wasn't a bad thing that there were more people helping out and that the city was much safer when he set his ego aside. I think that aside from all of this, after everything else that he was truly happy to have someone else to help him handle some of the burden. He wasn't the only one who would help now and that it was ok for him to want a break every now and then.

A part of me thinks he's just a glutton for punishment. Geez, I wonder who that sounds like. Now that I had some time alone to really think about what happened earlier I found that it dredged up some rather; unpleasant memories.

_"Richie I don't want you going to class with that Thomson boy anymore." My face scrunched up with confusion as my dad sneered at the name of one of my classmates. I had long since forgotten his first name but I do remember him being one of the nicer kids in my class that year. "Why?" "Because he's one of 'those' types of people. He's one of those gays. I had a long talk with his mother when he first asked you to come over to play. One of my jobs as your father is to make sure that you're safe so I met the boy's parents and his mom let it slip that he's one of those qu-" he stopped himself and quickly reworded what he was about to say, "he's just not someone you should be around. I'm taking out out of that class for your own sake."_

_I pouted at the thought of losing another potential friend, he was one of those few people who hadn't immediately dogpiled on me as soon as I was labeled a target. "Dad he's nice to me, he doesn't pick on me like the other kids do! It's not fair!" I stomped my feet readying myself for a temper tantrum, my face was heating up and I could feel tears begin to prick at the corners of my eyes._

Dad's face darkened after that, I couldn't tell what he was thinking at the time, now that I'm older I think it was him mistaking my desire for a friend for the possible thought that this 'gay kid' had been 'poisoning' his 'straight' son's mind.

I want to think that he wouldn't think too hard into it but I found that he had become more vocal about his distaste for both gay and black people. He went on about it so much that it had started going in one ear and out the other but I found that I wasn't the only one who had been affected by his words. Thomson had started avoiding me, he looked angry and even a little hurt. I found out later that dad had a rather frank discussion with his mother about her son's sexuality, saying things along the lines of 'having not raised him right' and 'I won't have my son around such a bad influence at such a delicate age'.

From then on I had made up my mind that my dad's bigotry was going to leave me alone and miserable. I wanted to make up my own mind and since we were going to move soon I would have the chance at a clean slate as long as I was careful about it.

After that we moved to Dakota and I met Virgil, had a few close calls but I was able to connect with my best friend. My best friend whom I fell in love with. The friend who I was terrified that my father's racism had scared off like he did with everyone else but Virgil refused to be ran off, he had fled but he didn't hold it against me. He helped me change the mind of one of the most stubborn, bull headed men that ever existed, well Virgil and Mr. Hawkins of course.

He had almost ruined my closest friendship, I wasn't going to let him possibly ruin my relationship. I wasn't going to let his hatred of something rule my life anymore, I'm going to choose to be happy!

I sat up and grabbed my mini shock box that I made to look like a toy but worked as both a communicator and a recorder. I pressed the button and spoke as clearly as my shaking voice would allow "Virgil, When you have the time, I'd like to talk with you about something."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a side note, I have no idea how to write for a homophobic character, I don't associate with such people and I don't care to listen to it so I had to bullshit my way through. This is not some repressed trama or any sort I'm just trying to write a decent story.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my dear duckies, I'll be leaving for a trip on the 31st and I won't be back until the 4th. So I won't likely be posting in any story until I get back. Sorry about that and happy Halloween!!!!
> 
> As always I love hearing from you whether it be you likes or dislikes, I read every comment and respond as soon as possible!
> 
> ~Enjoy

I was forced to stay home from school the next day to give my sore ribs a break, I wasn't going to argue after a long night of not being able to get comfortable and sleeping in short hour long bursts. I was exhausted, I've been poked and prodded by Sharon who in her defence was making sure I was okay. At one point I had to chase her out of the room to get a little privacy for privacy's sake.

I had the whole house to myself and nothing was good on T.V… I'm bored. I'm tired but not sleepy and my boyfriend was in school. With a tired groan I carefully got up from my bed and walked over to the computer, if I'm going to have some down time then I may as well get some class work done.

I typed up a few rough drafts before a thought whispered in my mind, 'I'm all alone in the house, no nosy sister to barge in on me.' I pushed it aside and continued typing, 'I'd be able to look up anything I wanted.' I strained to keep focus on the page in front of me 'I could look up anything and have the history cleared before anyone could see.'

My weakening will power broke as I saved my work and opened a new page in my browser. Before I would even dare to type anything I quickly glanced out my door to make sure the coast was truly clear before I shut and locked the door. Then I pushed the bed in front of it. I was not available!

Nervously I sat down in the chair and shakely typed out the question that had been burning in the back of my mind since I initially thought of it. "How do two guys have sex together?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I will never unsee that. I had to take a short break after an hour of 'research', having seen both the most clinical and the most graphic versions of the answer to my long sought questions. I wish I had some eye bleach for what I just; witnessed. I made triple sure to delete my history in every way possible as well as adding a bunch of random things like 'kittens in sweaters' or 'bacon is' and let the auto filler take over.

I'm pretty sure I was a whole new shade of red at that point, if anyone was here they probably would have thought that I was coming down with a fever. "This is what you get Virgil, curiosity killed the cat and looking up a question without the safety filter on get's images that you will never, ever be able to unsee." I groaned.

I wasn't hungry yet and there was no way I was going to even look at my computer again, much less do anything on it which left me bored again. I decided to dig around my backpack for something to do when a small flashing light caught my attention. I dug it out to see that it was my mini shock box.

It was flashing because of a new message that had been left for me. I hit the button and listened intently "Virgil, When you have the time, I'd like to talk with you about something." A monotone voice chimed out that he left me this message yesterday. I flipped it on to leave a short message of my own for him, unless it was an emergency the message would go straight to voicemail "Hey Rich, I just got your message. I've been bed bound today but you can come over after school so we can talk." I sent the message and intended to throw it back into the bag when Richie's voice chimed through the small box. "Virgil? Are you ok?" "Yeah, just a little sore. You in between classes or something?" "Nah, I was tracking Ferret but I lost him. We were going to have a pep rally today so I'm probably just gonna blow the day off." "Cool." "Any chance I could sneak in so we can talk?" "Yeah man I have the house to myself, come on over."

I turned off the mini shock box and made my way down stairs to unlock the front door for Richie. I started back up the stairs when I heard the front door opening, I turned and flashed Richie a smile and motioned for him to follow me upstairs. He followed me up without question, he was still in his Gear suit, his skin tight, Gear suit. 'Hold it in Virgil, hold it in.' "Are you ok man? You're looking a little winded" he's definitely not going to be happy with me when he hears about what happened. "Yeah you could say that."

When we entered my room I made it a point out of a growing habit to lock the door, Richie pulled off his helmet then sat down on my bed and waited for me to take a seat. He seemed to be a lot calmer than he was yesterday which was definitely a lot better. Once I was sitting next to him I was pulled into a gentle but confident kiss that surprised me, ok I'm liking this.

He pulled away much too soon for my liking but I held back the urge to pull him back into another kiss. "You wanted to talk about something?" He nodded and his gentle smile faded a little "I've had a lot of time to think about things, really think about it. I want to be happy. I also want you to be happy, you're the best thing that ever happened to me. I know I've been distant and hiding things and that wasn't fair but since I've opened up to you I've felt a lot better. I can't say I've fully shaken off my doubts, I might even slip up now and then and I'll understand if you don't want to deal with that but I hope we can stay together." There was a tentative hope in his eyes, I answered him by pulling him back into the kiss I held off from doing earlier.

Richie relaxed into me almost immediately, his hands coming to rest on my shoulders just shy of the bruise. I held in the hiss of pain that was fighting to free itself in favor of deepening the kiss, Richie's hands slowly worked their way down to rest on my chest. I couldn't hold back the sharp sucking gasp of pain that the gentle touch had unintentionally caused. Richie jerked back in shock as I took a few breaths and waited for the pain to go back to a dull throb.

"Virgil? Are you ok? What's wrong?" He reached out to touch me again but stopped himself, not wanting to hurt me. "I'm ok Richie, just a little sore." "That didn't sound like 'a little sore' to me Virgil." I couldn't help myself, the words came out before I could stop them "you're cute when you're mad." He fixed me with a glare that told me that I'd be in big trouble if I did that again. "What's wrong?" "Well let's just say Cameron Dillo got a good hit on Static yesterday." I said a little sheepishly. His stare bore into me so hard that I avoided his eyes and lifted the edge of my baggy shirt, I could hear an audible gasp from him as he took in the sight of my bandaged chest "it was a really good hit."

"Well I'd say so!" He sounded mad, really mad. I pulled down my shirt in the vain hope that it would damped his rage a little, it didn't work. "It's ok Richie. Dillo is in juvie and it's only two cracked ribs. Given a few weeks I'll be fine." He shot me this incredulous look of anger as he sputtered through what he wanted to say, "Virgil, I, you! Gah!" He stood up with a stomp of his foot as his words got mixed up in an amusing if not a little concerning jumble that made no sense at all.

After a minute he managed to compose himself slightly and turned to address me "we're going to have to have a good long talk about this later you lovable dope." He looked like he was about to have a mini stress induced attack of some sort. "I love you too Richie" that gave him pause, I was about to say it was ok if he didn't say it yet but he cut me off "I love you too Virgil." He gave me a peck on the lips before he readied himself to leave via the window "you take a break and heal, I'll cover patrols for the next few days. You stay in bed and recover." And with that he jumped out the window after making sure the coast was clear.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I swear that man is going to drive me crazy." I can't believe that fool has gone and cracked two of his ribs! I swear when he's all healed up I'm gonna bend him over a table and really teach him not to do such stupid things and not tell me sooner! Ugh!

I, I… oh man. I landed in front of the gas station and deflated a little. I know it was unreasonable to be mad at him for getting hurt while fighting bang babies and all but it always set my nerves on edge to see him get hurt. I know I can't stop it from happening and I couldn't ask him to give up being Static anymore then he could ask me to stop thinking a mile a minute.

I pushed my way into the station and felt the weight of Backpack fall with him as he thumped loudly against the floor. The small robot then walked the short distance to the desk and made the short climb to his charging station before settling in for a recharge. I took this time to go over to my junk pile to see if I could salvage any parts for anything.

I had big plans for the upcoming 5 years, Virgil mentioned offhandedly about how in the future about how we move our operation into the railway station under the gas station, I didn't believe him at first but sure enough there it was. A nice big expanse of abandoned territory rife with junk and scrap iron for the picking. It was perfect! Which is probably why we moved the bulk of our HQ there.

I had enough pieces here for a retinal scanner, grabbing the parts I would need to cannibalize for it I got to work. Like it normally did when I wasn't needing to strictly focus on something, my mind detached, the things in front of me dulled and blurred as my body followed the commands that the more technically sound part of my brain controlled. Time blurred as I started assembling things we would need one after the other.

"Richie!" I felt someone grabbing my shoulder which jerked me to full attention. "Huh?! What? Is something on fire?!" I jumped to my feet and spun around to see Virgil's slightly annoyed face "man I've been calling you. Geez, don't scare me like that. Do you have any idea what time it is?" I blinked and looked out one of the dust caked windows to see the street lamps were on.

"Oh." I looked at him a little embarrassed and asked "what time is it?" He looked like he wanted to stay annoyed but he softened "it's way past dinner time. Have you eaten yet?" At his question my stomach growled loudly to answer for me. Thanks a lot traitor.

I went and got changed into my casual clothing and followed Virgil out "so what made you come find me?" "Backpack sent me a message saying you zoned out. He'll do that when it reaches a certain time and he can't snap you out of it himself." That actually surprised me. I had never programmed that into Backpack so I can only assume Virgil asked him to do it at some point. I honestly don't know how to feel about that.

"You're coming home with me. We're gonna order a pizza since Sharon is out to a study group tonight." I nodded almost absent mindedly "I need to call home." "You can crash at my place tonight if you want, Pop's is going over to visit his girlfriend tonight. We could have a game night and relax." My buzzing mind came to a crashing halt. We'd have the whole house to ourselves. Just the two of us, with no one else around to bother us.

We could do anything…

I shook my head to try and dislodge the naughty little thought that had wormed its way in. He's hurt, he probably didn't even think about what he was offering or how I would take it. Yes. That's it. It's just going to be a fun night of games and food. 'Yes, fun indeed.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I was slightly concerned when I got one of the prerecorded messages I had left for Backpack in the event of something like this happening. While Backpack was by all means Richie's robot I was respected enough to be able to sneak these sort of commands to him and have him not tell Richie. He was just as concerned about Richie's well-being as I was.

As soon as we got back to my house Richie left long enough to make a phone call home, I used this time to pop a much appreciated pain killer. I made sure the house was cleared out for the night, even going as far as to encourage pop's to have a date with Trina who was happy with the suggestion. I wanted to see where this night would go if we had the place all to ourselves.

Richie returned moments later with a stretch "well they aren't happy that I didn't call sooner or ask to stay here ahead of time, but they're fine with me staying the night." I smiled and pointed over to the couch where I had set up my game system earlier if Richie was allowed to stay here for the night. He went to pick out a few games while I went to order a pizza for us.

This was going well so far. I didn't want to scare him off but I wasn't going to not try at all. We just needed to get a good feel for each other's comfort zones and the only way to do that was by testing the bounds a little.

I settled back down on the couch as he narrowed it down to three choices "which one you wanna play man? I can't decide, Attack of the brain eaters? Dead space? Or maybe Chainsaw duels?" "We haven't been able to beat our high score in brain eaters, we're still stuck on that infuriating maze level in Dead space and with Chainsaw we lost our good game file. I say we try for our high score again." I'm pretty sure we've all had that glorious moment of shock and horror then rage when you remembered the exact reason why you stopped playing something in the first place. Richie had that moment flash across his face for each game at the speed of light, it was so funny I couldn't help but laugh at him for it.

"Oh shut up." Still shaking with laughter I could barely respond "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but your face!" I couldn't stop myself from laughing, my ribs were definitely protesting enough to get me to calm down a little, if only to ease the pressure a little. Richie rolled his eyes with a small smile, "I bet I'll get the new high score!" "You're on!"

About a half hour in the pizza arrived. Richie was too far gone in his game to even notice so I went and grabbed the pizza. I needed to find a good point to jump in so I could get him to eat, Richie seemed hyper focus in his desire to one up our collective high score that took us a collective six hours to accomplish. At the time we would swap out every hour to give each other a much needed break to go to the bathroom, give our thumbs a break or as the case was now, getting something to eat.

"Richie, the pizza is here." "Uh huh." "It's time to eat." Uh huh." "I used Backpack to download 6 hours worth of gay porn." "Uh huh… Wait. What?!" He managed to tear himself away long enough to shoot me a horrified look. I held up the pizza box with a raised brow "pizza is here. Pause the game or swap out with me so you can eat." He looked at me a little skeptically at first but his stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, "you forgot to eat today, didn't you?" Now he looked a little sheepish "maybe?"

I sighed and put the box down on the table in front of us only to wince when I looked up to realise that he never paused the game and the lead he needed to beat the high score was beyond repair now. Richie had stuffed a slice of pizza in his mouth when he looked up to see his previous work ruined, let's just say that the slice of pizza effectively muffled whatever creative swear word he used, I say creative because it didn't sound like something I knew.

Deciding against trying to placate him for now I stole a slice for myself. Better to let him just work it out. With Richie effectively rage quitting the game for now I popped in a movie so he could have something else to focus on while we ate. It was a corny old comedy that was so bad it was good, we loved to watch it and make fun of the more stupid scenes.

Richie's soured mood brightened up as we sat and enjoyed an old past time of ours. I was only paying the movie half attention, Richie was being cute again. We were sat right next to each other and I found my arm that was on my good side slip over his shoulders of its own volition. He didn't seem to notice at first, he leaned into me as we enjoyed the movie.

When it ended he finally seemed to notice and blushed, I took the chance to steal a peck on the lips before getting up to get a drink, Richie was having none of that and pulled me into a kiss. Alright, I'm good with this. I carefully wrapped my arms around him and pulled him to lay down on top of me and continue the kiss. Richie was careful of my ribs but settled over me comfortably, our bodies just seem to melt together.

Richie was being careful of where he thought he could touch me as to not hurt me, I however didn't have such a restriction and let my eager hands roam as they pleased. "I love you Rich" a particularly naughty hand found its way down to his sweet ass again, just like before he squeaked with a surprised "Virgil!" "Sorry, the thing has a mind of its own." I ignored the twinging from my ribs and pulled him into a deeper kiss.

We stayed like this for what felt like an eternity, what was probably a few seconds, before I noticed something hard brush against the inside of my leg. Richie noticed this to as his face went bright red, "Oh, sorry I just…" he could have made a tomato jealous with how red his face was getting. I rested a hand on his cheek to get his attention and whispered softly, "do you want to take this upstairs?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I stiffened as a rapid fire argument took place in my head. 'We're not ready yet' yes we are. 'He's hurt.' He says it's fine. 'Am I ok with this?' Was the final question, looking down into his eyes I had my answer.

I backed off of him long enough for him to be able to get up, he grabbed my hand and guided me to his room. He looked at me again as if to ask if I was sure and wouldn't do anything more without my confirmation. I both love and hate that, it was totally up to me if I wanted to continue.

I looked him in the eye, smiled, and locked the door.

The next thing I knew I was being pushed up against the door while having my mouth ravaged by him, one of my hands buried itself in his dreads as the other rested on his uninjured side. I could feel him pressed up against me, the bulge in his pants rubbed against mine. The delicious friction nearly made my knees buckle, I moaned lightly and bucked into him to get a little more of that amazing friction.

Having taken the hint Virgil rubbed a hand over the bulge in my pants which made my legs tremble in pleasure. I broke the kiss long enough to growl out "fuck me on that bed before I blow it on foreplay." He seemed a little surprised but he was happy to all but throw me onto his bed. I whipped my shirt off and watched as he followed suit before joining me on the bed.

His confidence seemed short lived as he turned a little sheepish. I don't think he thought of what he would do when he got to this point, he didn't want to stop but I felt that this was my chance to take the lead from him. I pushed him to lay where I had just been and gave him what I hoped to be a confident smile.

When I was under the impression that I was bisexual I experimented and found it could be quite… intense. I still hadn't quite decided whether I preferred to be the one on the receiving end of things but I wasn't opposed to it either. Virgil had always been prone to over sharing information and from what I have gathered so far I can assume he wanted to be the one on top. That's fine by me for now, especially since I'll be the one popping his cherry tonight.

We had all night so I was going to take my time and make sure he enjoyed this. I started by planting a few soft kisses along his neck and stopped just above the bandages that were wrapped tightly around his chest. This would be a problem, I couldn't give him as much attention as I initially planned but I could work with this.

I saw him looking at me with curiosity as I repositioned myself comfortably between his legs. His eyes darkened with lust and unspoken fantasies danced in his eyes as I bit the tip of his pants zipper and pulled it down slowly. He would be at my mercy and he would be forced to listen to me for once.

The staining fabric of his boxers barely held him back but the constrictive layer of his jeans being released gave him some much needed relief. He shuffled awkwardly trying and failing to get his pants all the way off, I took pity and gave them a short tug, helping to get them past his hips. This gave me even better access then I had before, I had to take a second to truly appreciate what my friend was packing. Not that I was lacking in that department but still.

I pulled his boxers down enough for his dick to spring free, almost hitting me in the face in the process. I heard what I could only describe as an embarrassed gasp of surprise, I ignored it and kissed the tip of his cock. I didn't wait as I gripped the base of his dick and gave it a slow lick upwards along the underside of his throbbing cock. The breathy moan that he struggled to muffle encouraged me to continue, I licked upwards enjoying the gritting of his teeth.

I gripped the base and licked around the head of his dick. I had always fantasized about this, the taste was better than I could have imagined. I couldn't help myself and took him into my mouth and rubbed what I couldn't fit, giving up completely on teasing him. He grabbed ahold of my head having also given up on trying to keep quiet and was groaning and moaning in earnest.

"Richie! Don't stop, don't stop!" The only thing that was keeping me from taking him all the way into my throat was my gag reflex, no matter, doesn't mean I can't please him in other ways. I worked my tongue as best I could around his cock, "Richie, I want to make you feel good too." I pulled off and thought for a moment before an idea came to mind. "Alright, give me a minute."

Now that I wasn't distracted I could feel the painful confines of my far too tight pants. Once I pulled them off I turned around and swung a leg over his head and positioned myself over him in the classic sixty nine. Once I was sure we were both comfortable I took him back into my mouth not paying him too much attention.

Oh hello! Virgil was very eager to pay me back for earlier. It took all my strength to keep my knees from giving out, I never thought that this would ever happen and even though it was sloppy I was loving every second of it. Not one to disappoint I worked to take him deeper into my mouth all the while fighting my gag reflex.

My head was blurring a little from pleasure, or lack of air, I couldn't tell to be honest. I was so distracted that I hadn't heard the 'pop' of a cap, but I certainly noticed the slick finger probing at my hole. I groaned a little as the lubed finger slipped in, it was a little uncomfortable at first, it always was. I bit back my discomfort and doubled down on my focuses to pleasure him.

My weak knees wailed in protest in my head about this dual assault of sensations. I willed my weakened legs to hold up just a little bit longer, I've fingered myself before and I liked it a little painful, "Virgil, you mind hurrying up? I'm about to explode." He shot me a questioning look but something on my face must have been enough to get him to push in another finger. The stinging that accompanied the second finger had me groaning in pleasure.

Apparently I was ignoring him because he bucked his hips upwards towards my face, taking the hint I kissed the tip before taking it back into my mouth and started bobbing my head. Virgil bucked his hips up into my mouth while fucking my ass with his fingers, fuck I'm loving this! He probed with a third finger and I swear I was getting light headed. My head was so foggy that I hadn't noticed when he slowed down a little, I was preoccupied with the dick in my mouth as well as mine in his, and his fingers fucking my ass so I wasn't exactly expecting it when he blew his load in my mouth.

I coughed and choked as I shot him another dirty look over my shoulder but he wasn't paying me the slightest bit of attention. I took a moment to appreciate the sight of him sucking me off, if this was a dream then let me never wake up. "Virgil I'm ready." He reluctantly let me turn around with a blissful look on his face, if that was amazing then I was going to blow his mind.

"Virg, do you have a condom?" I wasn't hopeful but I still made it a point to ask. To my surprise he opened a drawer in his small side table and felt around for a second before returning with the requested item as well as the lube. I wasn't complaining. I ripped open the wrapper and rolled it on him and spared an idle thought about if this is what he had planned for the night or if it had just happened.

I lubed him up and positioned myself giving him one last chance to back out. He rested his hands on my hips with a firm but gentle grip in anticipation. I hissed through clenched teeth as I slowly lowered myself onto him, the stinging from earlier returned along with a painful burning. I expected it to hurt but damn! Virgil must have been blessed by a higher power to be this big.

Speaking of Virgil, his patients seems to have reached its limit because his firm grip on my hips tightened as he bucked upwards into my ass. I couldn't hold back a pained gasp, "ouch! Virgil! Warn a guy will you?" He shot me a grin "sorry. I don't want to wait anymore." He rolled his hips up into mine and I couldn't help but gasp again. Okay, if you want to play like that then I'm game.

I balanced my weight on my arms so I could fuck myself on his dick. The stinging burn lessened with motion as I rocked my hips against his with little moans. I took the chance to lean down for a quick kiss before I sat back up to ride him, "oh fuck! Mhmm, Virgil, feels so good!" He bucked up to meet my hips while making some of the hottest faces I knew no one else would ever see. This was something just for me.

I ground my hips into his wanting more, no, needing more! "Virgil please!" He bucked his hips up hard, so deep! "Yes Virgil! I love you, I love you, I love you!" I couldn't stop myself now that the flood gates were open, I didn't want to stop but Virgil silenced me by pulling me down into a passionate kiss, I swear my toes curled.

My head was so foggy that I couldn't tell which was up or down, electricity was racing through my body and I think I was mumbling a stream of nonsense and I could care less. The pressure that had been building up to an almost painful amount fired off random warnings in my head but was getting drowned out by pleasure. Hot white electricity shot through my body, every nerve exploding with pleasure as the most intense orgasm I've ever had hit me like a speeding train.

I blinked and realised that I had passed out momentarily, I could feel Virgil still in my ass and it looked like he was about to finish. I weakly rolled my hips to meet his powerful thrusts as I memorized the faces he made and the sounds of his moans as he came.

I kissed his neck making sure to leave a hickey in a spot that would be easy to cover up, my little mark of ownership so that anyone who would see it would know that he was mine. My only regret is that I couldn't leave it in a more visible place. After a minute I pulled off of him and tiredly settled in at his side with a few kisses. Virgil took off the condom and threw it into the trash can before he shakely got to his feet, I was actually concerned that his legs would give out but he stubbornly stayed upright and left the room before returning with a few wet rags. After we cleaned ourselves up he opened a window and joined me back in bed. I think he opened the window just to air out the room, I was mildly disappointed but I could understand that he didn't want his room smelling like sex when the rest of his family got home.

I cuddled into him intending on going straight to sleep but the sharp hiss from him was a firm reminder that he had broken ribs. "Shit! Are you ok V?" He just breathed for a minute before smiling "I'm ok. Just a little sore is all." I didn't believe him at all but I reluctantly let it go. "I love you" we shared a kiss before settling in for the night "love you too Rich. Goodnight."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for such a long time between chapters. I've been SUPER busy and I just couldn't think of what to do between chapters and I finally got this done. I plan to add more to it later without such a long gap between chapters!
> 
> Remember I love reading and responding to comments and kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> ~Enjoy

Oh my aching ribs.

My head was hazy with pain as my ribs throbbed, what did I do last night? I could feel a warm weight settled on my good side, I cracked an eye open to see what it was.

Richie

The painful ache dulled to a whisper as last night's activities came to me with crystal clarity. I relaxed again with the biggest grin on my face. We had sex. Mind blowing sex that was more amazing then I had ever imagined it would be. I wanted to laugh from the high I was riding but stopped myself so I wouldn't disturb Richie. He looked so peaceful, we had slept together in a non romantic way before and since his powers had come he always looked like he could never really get comfortable. He would sleep but he always had the face he made when he was lost in deep thought with his eyes closed.

Now that I was really paying attention he looked tired but at the same time he looked peaceful. I wanted to stay like this a little longer but something about me being awake seem to rouse Richie from sleep's sweet embrace as he stirred. It was almost a little funny how he blinked owlishly when he looked at me.

He shivered and buried himself further into the blankets, "shut the window would you?" I hadn't noticed the chill in the air when I had Richie pressed up against me, I could have confused him for a furnace with how hot he was. Reluctantly I pulled away from the blanket hog and shut the window. It was pretty early so no one was up yet. As soon as I crawled back into bed I felt Richie pull me into his chest as he cuddled into me and I did the same enjoying the closeness. He was so warm and comfortable that I didn't want this to end.

I must have dozed off again because I woke up to see Richie pushed up a little on the bed still looking half asleep. I handed him his glasses to which he muttered a sleepy "thanks" before yawning loudly. I sat up fully in bed while Richie tried to join me, I say tried because when he went to get up he yelped and planted a hand on his lower back with a hiss through his teeth. "Richie? Are you ok?" He didn't say anything for a minute while he made another attempt to sit up, this time being successful. He shot me a look and dead panned, "my ass hurts you beast."

He kept that up for a moment before he cracked a smile, "hey Mr. Feels-so-good I can say that you weren't too gentle with me either." He snorted and pulled me into an all to short kiss before pulling back "I'm hungry, how about we go get something to eat?" He crawled off the bed and flinched before adding "after a shower."

After I got a few very much appreciated pain pills and Richie had his shower we had settled down in the kitchen to a simple bowl of cereal. We ate in a comfortable silence, both of us content to eat and enjoy each others company for the time being. This peace didn't last as the front door opened and we could both hear Sharon walking in rather loudly. "Virgil? Are you up yet?" She shouted up the stairs clearly not having seen us yet. "Geez Sharon! We're over here, no need to yell." She turned to us with a slight jump, "Richie is here? Your rent is due by the way." She said with a snark that had no real bite to it. It had become a bit of a joke around here about Richie owing us rent for practically living here. "It's in the mail Sharon." She walked into the living room with a passing comment of "you said that last month."

We shared a smile and finished our cereal without another word.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I made myself comfortable on the couch as Sharon tidied up the kitchen a little, not like we made a mess or something. Virgil had started up the stairs and I decided to risk looking at that sweet ass of his as he went up the stairs, his baggy pants did nothing to hide that incredibly firm ass of his. I must have been staring too long because Sharon’s voice managed to cut through the trance Virgil had over me. “What is with you two lately?” I felt a brief surge of panic grip me but I swallowed it down and fought to keep my poker face in place. “What do you mean?” She snorted in annoyance and sat down on the couch across from me, crossing her arms and glaring at me with that look that said she wouldn’t let me go without answers.

“You know what I mean. Virgil has been getting hurt a lot, he’s been spacey and only seems to relax around you. What’s up with that?” A chill ran up my spine as my mind raced to make up some excuse but before I could say anything she continued, “I mean it’s so weird, do you have any idea whats wrong with him?” My speeding heart relaxed a little as she opened an opportunity for me to turn this around before she accidentally stumbled onto the answer herself. "Sharon we're teenagers. We're going to do stupid things and we tend to have a lot going on in our heads and things that we need to work out ourselves." She looked like she was going to argue but I cut her off before she could gain steam again, "there are just things you don’t need to know. Virgil and I have always been comfortable around each other, we’re practically brothers at this point." I gave a half smile, "I know you’re Virgil’s older sister and you're concerned about him, but just leave it be. He's not doing anything bad I promise."

That little voice in the back of my head not so quietly hissed in disagreement but I pushed it down and ignored it. I prayed internally that she would buy it, I could see the need to be the helpful older sister playing out on her face against wanting to trust me and give Virgil some space. 'Please work, please work, please work!' Sharon huffed and turned away from me. "Fine." That wasn't the 'fine' of someone who would drop it, but one of someone who planned on bringing this up again later.

I bit the inside of my cheek as turned on the T.V and waited for Virgil to finish with his shower. It had only been a few minutes since he left but it felt like hours under Sharon's close watch. I know she was watching me for any signs of something she seem to think was amiss. There was nothing wrong with what we were doing, last night taught me that for sure.

I strained to keep my face neutral as I waited for Virgil to finish his normally long showers. Thinking back on last night and the ever present ache in my ass and lower back was getting me all hot and bothered again. Virgil shouldn't bother with the shower, he was going to get as dirty as he was last night when I got a hold of him.

"You feeling ok Richie? You're looking a little flushed." I about jumped off the couch at the question. Sharon was looking a little worried now which opened my opportunity to escape presented itself. "I think I need some air, I'm going to my workshop to fiddle with a few things. Bye Sharon." Before she could respond I was already by the door pulling my jacket on and grabbing my school backpack, I practically ran out the door as she yelled for me to wait. Nope. Not happening.

I shut the door of the gas station of solitude firmly behind me before walking over to the couch and all but collapsed on it. That was a close one. I loved Sharon, I really did but she was doing a number on my poor heart. I heard the beep of Backpack as he booted up, likely triggered by my entrance. Extending his camera in my direction for a moment before chirping when he saw that it was me.

The little robot hopped to the floor with a loud thump and skittered towards me. I smiled and rubbed a hand along his casing, the polished metal was smooth under my fingers and helped to soothe my frayed nerves as I took a breath. Backpack beeped a few times in a familiar pattern that I recognized as him being concerned about my well being. "It's just been one of those mornings, buddy."

The small robot nudged me with his body as if to encourage me to continue. I looked at him for a moment with a raised brow. Who's been teaching him how to do that? After a minute I relented and slumped a little in my seat, I couldn't fight him when he was looking at me like that. "Let's just say Virgil's sister is getting a bit nosy and it's stressing me out." "I'll say." This time I did jump off the couch as Virgil's voice almost seem to echo in the quiet gas station.

I got up and spun around to see Virgil leaning in the doorway with a smile. I thought I would have more time than that but I should have known that Virgil flying here would be considerably faster than me power walking here. "Dude! Give a guy a warning! Geez!" I clutched at my chest as my heart hammered away in my chest. Virgil raised his hands as if to apologize and ward off my annoyance with him.

"Sorry! Sorry. Sharon was pretty annoyed by you running out on her like that but she didn't bother telling me why." His smile melted into that frustrated little half smirk that translated to extreme annoyance with his sister. "She started interrogating me, barely managed to get away." I sat back down on the couch and patted for him to join me which he did without complaint. He rested against me and we settled into a comfortable silence with each other, the only noise from were from early morning Dekoda and Backpack who jumped off the couch with another loud thump and a skitter of tiny metal legs.

We didn't sit like that for long as I turned and gave him a light kiss. He kissed me back making those naughty thoughts from earlier return in full force. I wanted to do so many things to him in here, there was certainly more than enough of my gear that we could make an interesting time of it.

Virgil's ribs however seem to have a different plan, I could see the pain even when he was trying so hard to hide it. Reluctantly I pulled back, I didn't want to hurt him any further even if he wanted to ignore it. "Come on V, I know you're hurting." "Leave it up to Cameron Dillo of all people to cock block a guy." His grumbles about the anthropomorphic metahuman only served to push me farther away from sexy times as I smiled and shook my head.

"You know if it wasn't for him we probably wouldn't have done it anywhere near as soon as we had. It's also why we should hold off on it for a while too." He winced as my finger just barely poked his ribs. "Yeah, you might be right." I felt a brow raise at the comment but decided it was best to simply let it slide.

Virgil huffed and leaned back on the couch like he had the day he was shirtless, the naughty thoughts briefly flared up again before I pushed them aside again and decided to change the subject. "So when did you think you were starting to fall for me?" It was almost cute how he blinked in surprise at the question. "Oh. Well I think it was last year. I caught on that you were looking at me" my face went bright red "and I think that's when I started noticing the little things. The way you'd laugh, the way you've always stuck by me even when we'd fight about me spending time with Daisy."

My face was burning a little hotter as I thought back on the way I behaved back then. "Yeah not my proudest moment. I was jealous of her." He looked at me expectantly as if he already knew the reason why but he wanted me to confirm it for him. "Now that I think back about it, I wasn't as jealous about how much time she was spending with you. I was jealous that you were looking at her like that coupled with the patrols you were blowing off I was upset that she was getting that kind of attention from you."

I couldn't quite meet his eye as I thought back on how childish I was being. He grabbed my chin and turned me so that I couldn't look away from him and kissed me before letting me go. Yeah I'm pretty sure my face was hot enough to burn a hole through something.

"I won't lie, it was pretty annoying at the time but knowing that you were jealous is kind of hot." And like that, the naughty thoughts have returned in full force! I pulled him back into a kiss which he didn't resist, after a few seconds he pushed me down onto the couch. "Wait! Hold on." I pushed back against his good shoulder much to his annoyance as he backed off enough and look at me questioningly. "Let me lock the door first."

He nodded and carefully backed off as to not worsen his poor ribs. I stepped up to the door going as far as to take a quick peek outside. All clear, good. I turned around with a grin, alone at last. Virgil shifted into a more comfortable position as I rejoined him on the couch, I barely got to sit down before he was on me again. I was careful to avoid his injured side as my hands explored the body I had become quite familiar with just last night.

Virgil pushed me down again and kissed me deeply, hot damn if his ribs weren't messed up right now I'd flip us over and enjoy a second round with-

Beep Beep Beep

We both jerked instinctively at the sound of the metahuman alert from Backpack. I growled in my throat as Virgil sat back equally annoyed. I reluctantly stood up to go and get my gear when I saw Virgil making to get up as well. "You're not going on this one Virg. Static is taking a break remember?" His face soured a little knowing that he was going to miss out on the action. I hated to see him like that, I gave him a peck on the lips before whispering softly in his ear "trust me, you'll want to be good and rested up because when you're all recovered I'm going to give you the time of your life."

I gave his shoulder a light pat before turning around and left to get ready as backpack skittered to follow me. I spared a quick glance over my shoulder to see his face flushed with a goofy smile on his face. Oh yeah, I'm going to show him a good time for sure.

**Author's Note:**

> Anyways I know you've all been wanting another chapter of Mr. Hitman and I am in fact working on it but this one came out much faster then the 18th chapter is, I'm gonna do something a little different with it but I guarantee the next chapter will be based on Mal and will hopefully clear a few things up I hadn't realised would be a problem.
> 
> Know I'm not trying to delay anything, creativity back hands me when ever it damn well pleases to at this point so I'm defiantly working on it but it slow kind of burn.
> 
> I have a commission incoming so that will eat up a huge chunk of time as it always does, I'll make sure not to keep you all waiting too long but I ask for your patients, thank you!


End file.
